You Got To Have Hope
by Sakadora
Summary: Keiyma, a young girl, runs away from her home, sick of the abuse she’s faced. She is rescued by the YYH gang, but the years of sorrow have left her paranoid and unloving. She struggles to trust again and maybe to one day find happiness. HieiOC COMPLETE
1. The Escape

Summery: A story about a young girl named Keiyma who runs away from her home, sick of the abuse she's faced, and is rescued by the YYH gang. However, the years of sorrow have left her terrified and loveless. She struggles to trust again, wanting nothing more than happiness. When she meets someone with a similar past and attitude, will they be able to overcome it all, together? Hiei/OC

Story Type: Drama/Romance

Rating: M

Warnings: Contains violence and suggestion of physical and sexual abuse.

Chapter: The Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters except for Keiyma Suriei.

* * *

"Goodbye." Keiyma Suriei stared into her mother's bloodshot, unfocused eyes. She stood her ground, but just barely. The sudden courage that had inspired her was slipping past, and she feared that she would never find it again.

She walked over to the front door of their house and threw it open, running outside outside.

This was it.

Her mother yelled out to her, her voice a harsh slur, "Don't esh'pect me ta' come runnin' after ya'. If ya' want ta' be a shtoopid idyit, tha'sh fine by me." Keiyma stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the thin, scarcely clothed middle-aged woman.

"Why don't you just go back inside to tonight's 'special friend'? I wouldn't be surprised if you found this pig passed out on the floor of a bar. That's where you usually are."

Had she really just said that?

"Shut up, ya' _ungrateful _mutt!" her mother screamed, breathing heavily. "Why shouldn't I have any company? You're gonna be a sh'crew-up no matter what I do. I might a'sh well at leash't have a life my'shelf,"

"The only screw-up around here is you," she whispered, amazed that she had dared.

"You _sh'tupid_ little—"

Keiyma heard no more. She turned away and walked with a stiff briskness from the undersized, horrendously shattered excuse for a house.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma ventured down the pitch back street, the cold biting at her skin and the wind blowing around her long hair. She paled in fright and cold, her skin stark against her dark hair and eyes.

She glanced behind her. There was no sight of the moldy shack which she had grown up in, nor any sign of vile mother and her stinging voice. Though she felt relieved at her newfound freedom, Keiyma was also wrought with sudden terror and a helpless realization of how very alone she was.

She checked her pockets and looked through the bills she had hastily grabbed from her dresser before she fled. It was all she'd managed to take with her. Ironically, her life's savings weren't nearly enough to save her life. She'd always been proud of her savings, but the amount seemed so little now that she had nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat, and nothing to wear but the clothes on her back.

Keiyma started to get nervous, flinching at the slightest sound. She found herself kicking at garbage bins the wind had merely cause to rattle. She realized that she was walking in circles and stopped for a second to try and think of what she was going to do. Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps walking up to her. She sped around fast.

"Well, well, well. What's a little thing like you doing out here on her own?" Three tough-looking men began approaching Keiyma, snickering. It didn't even matter that it was too dark to see their faces; she could_ feel_ their malevolent grins.

"Nothing… leave me alone!" Keiyma yelled out, trying not to show fear.

"We would, sweetheart, but, you see, this is our ally. We own everything here, and since _you're_ here..." they started to laugh viciously and walked even closer to her, forcing her into the corner. Keiyma put her hands up, shielding herself.

She froze when she heard a sudden crack. The three men approaching her yelled out in pain and fell straight onto the ground. She looked down at them, overwhelmed with confusion.

"They're knocked out," a gentle male voice said, its owner stepping out of the shadows. "Are you okay?" He was quite taller than her, with gleaming green eyes and long red hair. He was wearing a magenta school outfit and didn't look much older than sixteen, Keiyma's age.

"I-I'm fine... I didn't need your help." She tried to stop herself from staring at him.

"Maybe not, but it's not safe to be out here so late at night. What's your name?"

Her throat seemed to tighten. She had momentarily forgotten all about her fight with her mother, how she was homeless and helpless. She winced as that evening's events came flooding back to her.

"Keiyma. I'm, looking for a place to go... I've lost my home," she said cautiously, her voice slightly raspy.

"I see. My name is Shuichi, but you can call me Kurama." He noticed how upset she was decided not to ask her anything more. "I might know of a place you can go. That is, if you're willing to accept my help."

She just met him. Was this really safe?

He _did_ save her.

Besides, what other choice does she have?

Keiyma nodded and Kurama motioned for her to follow him.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

They walked for half an hour in uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to say.

"Kurama... those three guys that attacked me... I only heard one hit, but they all were knocked out. How did you do that?"

She didn't really care. She just wanted the quiet to go away.

"What? Oh... you must not have heard properly. Probably scared out of your senses," he said nervously.

"I was not!" That was a lie. Keiyma had been terrified. She knew that if Kurama hadn't been there, she would have failed miserably on her own in any attempt to fend off her attackers.

Kurama didn't respond. He was staring up at a dark brown house ahead of them. It was quite a large house, but looked horribly worn and beat up. Duct tape secured the white windowpanes in place and random splotches of lighter, mismatching paint attempted to cover where the old coat had chipped. Obviously, someone was trying to keep the house in living condition.

"We're here," Kurama said, peering over to further examine the house. He inhaled the night air serenely. "I've forgotten how good it feels to be home. I haven't been here since..." He didn't finish his sentence, but instead walked up to the mahogany door of the house and gently knocked on it.

"Just a second," a woman's voice called out, strained by fatigue.

Keiyma watched as a woman ran out of the house. She looked as though she was in her mid-thirties, her black hair was held up loosely in a bun. Her and Kurama hugged each other tightly.

"Oh, Shuichi! Goodness, isn't it a bit late? Oh, that doesn't matter. I'm so glad you're back!" she said, smiling gleefully.

Keiyma looked at the pair with slight sadness and envy. She had never shared such a loving relationship with anyone.

"Keiyma, this is my mother, Shiori," said Kurama, penetrating her thoughts.

The woman turned her attentions to Keiyma. She looked at her with a confused expression, which then turned into a knowing grin.

"Hello. Are you Shuichi's girlfriend?"

Keiyma was completely taken aback; her eyes went wide as she watched Kurama's face turn, if possible, redder than his hair.

"No, no!" Kurama answered quickly. "You see, I found Keiyma walking along the alleys. She doesn't have anywhere to go, so, I thought maybe she could stay with us, if that's all right with you, of course."

"Oh! Well, you can stay here as long as you'd like, dear," Shiori said to Keiyma, smiling kindly.

Shiori led them into the house, giving Keiyma a tour and telling her to 'help herself' to anything she needed. After the tour was done, she took Keiyma up the stairs to a small room that held a large, rickety old bed and a huge, long window viewing a colorful backyard.

"You can sleep here for the night. I'm sorry it's not very comfortable; I haven't had a guest in some time. But, we'll fix you up tomorrow. I'm sure you're very tired," Shiori said, yawning. "I know I am." She grinned. "Goodnight, dear."

Keiyma walked into the now empty room and turned to look around it. She found herself face to face with Kurama. They stood there for a moment, Keiyma giving a look of thanks to the handsome redhead. They finally wished each other goodnight and he left the room.

Yawning, Keiyma crawled into the bed. The covers were thin, but she didn't care. Sleepiness overwhelmed her, masking the cold. She closed her eyelids and drifted off into sleep.

Though her body was unconscious, Keiyma's mind was awake, actively replaying memories, robbing her of the much-needed rest.

**FLASH** _A middle-aged woman in a low cut dress, drunk, cackles as she rolls a pair of bright red dice. _Her mother, indifferently gambling away money needed for food and clothing.**FLASH** _A young girl shakes her head, apologizing. _Her friends abandoning her when she needed help. **FLASH**_ A tall man with strangely tidy hair. _Her father, taking his last leave. **FLASH**

Keiyma rose up suddenly in her bed, terrified to see any more of the memories she had worked so hard to forget. She wiped off the sweat that had dripped down her face. She rubbed her temple and pulled the blanket off of her. Her throat was hot and scratchy, so she decided to get a glass of water.

She tiptoed across the kitchen towards a cupboard that she guessed held the drinking glasses. Opening it up, she found a bag of sugar and some other spices. Keiyma sighed and walked over to the next cupboard. She was about to reach up to open the door when she was startled by a voice behind her.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Keiyma turned to find Kurama leaning against the doorframe.

"I was just getting a glass of water," Keiyma replied softly.

Kurama walked up to her and raised his hand right next to her face; instinct caused Keiyma to flinch, but his hand only continued along to open cupboard.

Kurama noticed her reaction and stopped his movement, looking at his hand. He turned back to face Keiyma and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, looking sadly at her.

He _knows_.

Keiyma's lip trembled and she began to hastily walk toward the stairs, but Kurama got in front of her, forcing her to stop.

"Wait…," he said pleadingly. Keiyma looked up to him. She tried to get aside him and go back up the stairs, but he moved with her.

"Please, move aside."

Kurama paused for a second then stepped to the left, allowing her to walk freely. He watched as she made her way up the stairs and to the door of her room. He then sat down at the table and rested his head in his hands to think.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"ARE YOU CRAZY?"

Keiyma had slept dreamlessly after the incident in the night. She was very reluctant to be awoken by loud screaming. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, leaving her room to find out what was going on.

"She could mess up everything!" came the same angry snarl that had woken her up. Keiyma peered into the living room. She saw that the speaker was very short, but undoubtedly handsome. His hair was arranged in tall black spikes, highlighted with white and he wore all black.

"What does she look like?" boomed the voice of a uniquely handsome man sitting in a chair at the other end of the room. He had orange hair and was wearing a light blue school uniform.

"Keep your voice down, you'll wake her up," Kurama warned softly.

"Too late," called out a voice from behind Keiyma. She turned to see a boy with short dark in a green school uniform was stopped behind her, staring.

Keiyma turned back and forth, nervously, to meet the four pairs of eyes now on her.

"Keiyma!" said Kurama, jumping up and walking over to her. He led her into the living room. "This is Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke," he said, pointing to each one in turn.

Hiei merely grunted his greeting, Yusuke said a pleasant 'hello', and Kuwabara bolted up from his chair, excitedly, and shook her hand. Kurama motioned for her to sit down and she obeyed.

She sat silently, squirming awkwardly in her chair. She noticed Hiei, still looking angry, stared at her.

"So, how long are you planning to sponge off of Kurama?" He asked cruelly.

"She's not sponging. She's my guest, Hiei," Kurama defended.

"Well, she wouldn't need to be if she wasn't stupid enough to lose her home in the first place."

"Stupid? You know nothing about me, jerk!" said Keiyma suddenly.

"Don't insult those stronger than you, little girl."

"You're one to call me little," Keiyma muttered, causing Hiei to spring up fiercely.

"HIEI! Can't you go a single day without fighting?" Yusuke yelled, rising to his feet as well.

"Hn," Hiei said, sitting back down.

Keiyma shook off what Hiei had said. She had been insulted, yes, but at least that meant Kurama had not told of her abuse.

Kurama suddenly perked up and smiled brightly.

"Keiyma, would you like to go to a fair with us today? It's just outside of town."

"Uhhmm..." said Keiyma, appearing to be thinking intensely.

"We were planning to go anyway, so we'd all be honored if you joined us," he added, elbowing Hiei who just glared at him.

"You should come, it'll be way more fun than hanging around here," said Yusuke.

"Yeah, you can ride with me on the tunnel of love," Kuwabara suggested with a wink.

"Uhhmm..."

"Well, will you come?" asked Kurama.

"What's a fair?"

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

After much persuasion, and of course explanations, the boys—excluding Hiei— convinced Keiyma to accompany them. They decided to go in the evening, so that Shiori could take Keiyma clothes shopping.

The two returned around 5:30, holding a few light bags. Shiori had insisted on paying for everything, so Keiyma refused to buy much. She felt bad taking money from a woman who didn't seem to have much to spare. Though, she could not say no to the offer altogether, seeing as she could barely afford anything own her own.

Keiyma brought the clothes up to her room and tried, somewhat successfully, to fold them neatly into the small bureau in the corner of the room. She changed into a purple, long-sleeved, turtle-necked shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. The outfit was exactly like everything else she bought, but in a different color. She needed her clothes to cover her completely.

She was brushing her hair when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said, setting the hairbrush down. Kurama opened the door and stepped inside.

"You ready to go?" he asked cheerfully.

Keiyma nodded and walked down the stairs with him to where Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara were waiting.

Keiyma felt strange, she'd never been treated so nicely before. She wanted to let down her barriers, to just smile and enjoy herself. But she had tried that so many times, and so many times she'd been hurt.

She'd escaped that, though, didn't she? It took sixteen years, but she's away from it all. She finally fought back. And… it worked. Unless, somehow, the pain comes back...

Awareness – that was the only way. She had to keep her guard up and not let anyone in. She'd be alone, but safe from all the pain, the tears, the anger, and the shame.

She has to be strong and keep fighting. She has to keep away the bad, even if it means losing the good. Whatever the good may be…

Kurama opened the front door and they began to walk down the street, towards the next city.

The roads were dead, dark and deserted. The eeriness of the empty street was almost calming. The wind blew harshly, ruffling their clothes. Their footsteps, surrounded by silence, echoed along the pathway as they treaded down the deserted road


	2. On To The Fair

Chapter: Onto The Fair

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei.

* * *

The gang was walking along the street in a straight line based on their different walking speeds, or, more specifically, based on eagerness to get to the fair. Kuwabara was at the front, Yusuke behind him, then Kurama, Keiyma, and Hiei.

Keiyma kept turning her head suspiciously from the road ahead of her to Hiei. He noticed this and stared back at her. She started walking slower, so he did too. She got angry and stopped in her steps completely.

"What?" he asked her sharply.

"I don't like it when people walk behind me," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Especially people I don't trust."

"Please. I'm not coward enough to attack someone from the back." He snapped. "Especially someone so pathetic."

Keiyma tensed.

"I am _not_ pathetic."

"Oh, shut UP!" Yusuke yelled. "Why don't you two just walk next to each other? Then nobody's at anyone's back, OKAY?"

They both fell silent and moved to walk side-by-side, still glaring at each other intensely.

"Maybe someone should stand between them," whispered Kurama.

"I will!" yelled Kuwabara, running over next to Keiyma.

Kuwabara smiled and put happily put his arm around her. Keiyma, incredibly unnerved with a strange man's arm on her, quickly shrugged it off. He frowned, but still seemed happy to be next to her.

Everyone was silent for the rest of the walk, except for Kuwabara, who was merrily singing the wrong words to the theme song of his favorite anime show. There wasn't a single person around who appreciated the noise.

Keiyma had been looking down at her feet while she walked, but as the noise around them grew, she looked up. Her eyes and ears danced when she found bright lights, giant machines, and cheery music. There were people smiling and laughing everywhere she looked.

"All right, let's go!" yelled Yusuke, running ahead of them, jumping up and down like a little kid. "Hurry up slow pokes, or I'll go without you!" Kuwabara ran over to him, grinning. However, since none of the others made any move to hurry up, the two simply waited impatiently for them.

They passed through the entrance and bought wristbands. Keiyma was a little self-conscious at how excited she was and tried to hide it, keeping a straight face and looking uninterested. The guys were all looking around, as if they were searching for something.

"Why don't I take Keiyma through the funhouse while you guys go check out the rest of the fair?" Kurama asked Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara. They agreed and each one ran off to a different area.

Kurama brought Keiyma to a colorful building; the outside was decorated in pink and blue spots and all sorts of strange, abstract designs. They stepped through the doorway and Keiyma found she was surrounded with hundreds of reflections of her and Kurama.

"Race you to the end!" He yelled and then ran ahead, leaving Keiyma blinking behind him. She looked into her own eyes, which were strangely patterned over the walls. She started walking around and trying to find where Kurama had gone. Every time she thought she knew the way she ended up walking straight into a mirror.

After several tries, Keiyma started to get anxious and began running, which just caused her more injury. She rubbed her nose after a particularly hard collision with a mirror, thankful that it didn't break or start bleeding. Her nose had been broken several times in the past and was already quite crooked because of it.

Her paranoia kept growing within her and she began to feel as though she was trapped in this glass prison. Unable to contain her panic, she ran up as fast as she could and kicked through a mirror. She jumped backward to avoid the glass shards that flew around her. She walked through the path that was now available to her and pulled her sleeves over her hands in an effort to protect them.

Keiyma punched into the new mirror blocking her and ran through it. She continued to through the maze of mirrors, punching and kicking a straight path for herself. It took very little time before she reached the exit. She found Kurama there, staring, open-mouthed at the girl after seeing her punch the last mirror in her way.

"HEY! What the _hell_ is going on over there?" Came a huge yell and the sound of someone approaching– fast. Kurama grabbed Keiyma and ran far away from the funhouse. They finally stopped in front of the Ferris wheel.

"That's NOT how you get through the funhouse!" Kurama said, flabbergasted.

"Well, you left me there! And I… I couldn't get out," she replied, pulling up her sleeves. "Am I going to be in trouble?" Keiyma asked, frowning at him.

"No, they don't know who it was," Kurama said reassuringly. "I think the fun house is going to be out of commission for quite some time, though." He chuckled, then looked down at his wristwatch. "The guys are going to meet us here in a minute or two."

Keiyma rubbed her knuckles as she waited. Kurama shot a sympathetic gaze as he saw them. The punching had bruised them and there was a gash on her left hand that would most definitely scar. Keiyma saw him staring and blushed.

"I guess sleeves aren't very good armor," she said sheepishly.

Before she could get a response, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke came running up to him.

"Any luck?" Kurama whispered very softly, though Keiyma still managed to hear. The three shook their heads.

"We couldn't find her anywhere," Yusuke whispered back.

"HEY! I KNOW! Let's ride the Ferris wheel! We can see the whole fair from there," boomed Kuwabara. They all stared at him.

"That's actually a... good idea," Yusuke said in complete disbelief.

"Hey, I'm FULL of good ideas," Kuwabara replied, pulling on his jacket collar in a cocky manner.

"Certainly full of something...," Hiei muttered.

"What was that, SHORTY?"

"We better get in line before it gets too long," said Kurama, pushing Kuwabara away from Hiei and the severe beating he was most definitely about to receive.

Keiyma was suddenly plagued with innocent curiosity.

She looked up as Kuwabara suddenly elbowed Yusuke and pointed over to the distance. She followed his direction to a girl with blonde hair that was tied into high pigtails at the sides of her head. She had a small heart-shaped birthmark on the higher part of her right cheek. She was wearing a bright pink dress and smiley vibrantly with a group of friends.

Kuwabara started walking toward the girl, Yusuke behind him, signaling for Kurama to follow. Keiyma, determined to find out what was going on, attempted to follow them, as well. Kurama put out a hand to stop her.

"Wait here."

"What's going on? I want to go with you," Keiyma tried to shout over the calls of the Ferris wheel operator telling her to take a seat.

"Nothing. I'll be back in a minute. Stay here with Hiei."

"What are you hiding from me?" she asked as the Ferris wheel operator began to get frustrated.

"It's... guy stuff. I can't talk about it, it's embarrassing," Kurama said.

Keiyma looked confused and somewhat disbelieving. But, before she could say anything, Kurama very gently pushed her and Hiei into the chair of the Ferris wheel and pulled down the bar. He waved goodbye and smiled to them as he began walking quickly after the two who had already left.

"Take good care of her, Hiei!" His voice echoed from the distance.

Keiyma stared, shocked, at Kurama's shrinking figure as he walked into the distance. However, strangely enough, everything else seemed to be getting smaller, too. She looked around the sides of her chair and realized she was being raised into the air. She frantically grabbed onto the sides.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked, staring at her icily.

"I didn't know this thing went into the air," she replied shakily.

"You're afraid of heights? You've got to be kidding me."

"Shut up!" she whimpered.

The chair suddenly stopped at the highest point in the air, flimsily swaying from side to side. Keiyma bit her lip.

"Oh, didn't you know that it stops at the top? Why, that's the best part! Just you, a rickety old chair, and a fifty foot drop," Hiei teased wickedly.

Keiyma made a move to strike him, but stopped when she saw how it moved the chair. She put her hand down again, very slowly, so as to avoid moving it more.

Hiei noticed her carefulness and grinned. He started rocking the chair back and forth over and over again so that it was swaying viciously. He then laughed unkindly as her face became flushed with fear and anger.

Her palms were beginning to form a cold sweat, caused by her nervousness, and started slipping along the sides where she held on. She needed to find something else that she could get a better grip on. She looked around for something, but the chair was empty. Her eyes landed on Hiei.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Keiyma shuddered. She grabbed Hiei's arm and tightly squeezed her own around it, pulling it against her.

"Let go of me, you wench!" Hiei spat at her. He tried to pull his hand from her grip, but, her fear seemed to have greatly increased her strength, and he was unable.

Keiyma ignored his repeated insults and curses towards her, and closed her eyes, trying to get the thought of the fifty-foot drop out of her mind.

It was… surprisingly easy. Her mind felt completely calm. It was as if she'd never even left the ground. She was… cozy.

She felt the wheel slowly start to move again, bringing them back down to the ground. She exhaled deeply, relieved. She loosened her grip on Hiei as they got closer, and he, too, looked relieved. They stepped out of the chair and began walking away from the ride.

"Please, don't tell anyone about that," Keiyma pleaded quietly.

"You really think I want to go around telling people that you used me as your own personal teddy bear? I couldn't handle the shame of that."

"You are such a _jerk_!"

"Hn." Hiei watched as Keiyma sped off away from him. "Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom."

Hiei growled and then slowly walked behind her.

"Why are you following me?" Keiyma asked uneasily.

"People might have seen me come here with you. I don't want to be known for being associated with the girl who kept wandering around a fair, lost."

"Gee thanks, that's _really_ considerate of you," Keiyma spat.

She kept walking towards the bathroom she had spotted. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her quickly. She walked over to the sink and turned on the hot water. It burned her at first, but she adjusted to it, and it began relaxed her swollen hands. She cleaned the wound she had received from the funhouse mirrors and then began to splash some water on her face.

Keiyma felt relaxed as the hot water dripped down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and savored the peaceful moment before wiping her face clean with her sleeve. She watched her reflection in the mirror and laughed, remembering Kurama's face when he saw her charging from the fun house.

Her smile quickly vanished when she noticed that hers wasn't the only face in the mirror. mirror. She saw the reflection of a pale man standing, bald, thin, and emotionless in the corner, staring at her. She sharply turned to face him.

"What do you want?" Keiyma asked, terrified. The man's face formed a grin, showing a mouthful of twisted yellow teeth.

"You," he whispered in an oily cackle, as he began to pull something up from behind him.

She would have at least tried to defend herself, had it not been that moment that Hiei chose to knock on the door and demand to know what was taking to long. She turned her head back from the distraction a second too late. An enormous amount of pain filled her head and everything went black.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Her head felt heavy, so heavy. She couldn't even open her eyes in the pain. Her surroundings felt soft and comfortable, much different than the cold and hard floor of the bathroom she had been in.

Where was she?

She was trying to turn to her side, but had not yet gained back total consciousness. The movements made her feel horribly dizzy. She was about to moan in pain, but silenced herself when she heard a voice from inside the room.

"Are you sure this is the right girl?" It was a deep voice that sent a shiver up and down Keiyma's spine.

"Yes, my liege, she came with the spirit detectives." Keiyma recognized the voice of the man who had knocked her out.

Spirit detectives?

"Those idiots... only one of them was with her, correct?"

"Yes. The one outside the door wasn't even paying attention as I slipped inside the back entrance."

"Fools."

Keiyma listened as she heard someone walking toward her. She heard the ragged breathing of someone close to her. For some reason, this made her feel horribly sick and thankful that she couldn't see the figure above her.

"It's strange to see such a powerful and important creature withering and completely at my mercy. I almost pity the girl," said the deep voice from above her.

"Bastard," Keiyma muttered, not realizing the effect of her talking until it was too late. She groaned as she heard the man give a chuckle.

"It seems someone was listening in on our conversation." The man with the deep voice suddenly put his face right next to Keiyma's ear and whispered, "Good to see that you're awake."

Keiyma shuddered and opened her eyes to finally see the man who was speaking. He was a middle-aged man, probably in his forties, with fairly long, dark brown hair. He was wearing an extensive black robe with a high collar. His eyes were hazel, and he would have been quite handsome were it not for the multiple scars covering his face.

Keiyma shuddered as she looked at the man. He made her feel empty inside and her stomach twist. As she peered into his eyes, she felt a sort of familiarity in them. It wasn't comforting, but she was certain that she had seen this man before, somewhere.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei had past the full extent of his patience about ten minutes ago, and was now entirely fed up. He kicked open the door of the bathroom, ignoring the looks of the people near him. He stepped inside, only to find the room empty. He glanced at the door in the back and saw it was slightly open. He guessed that Keiyma had run off somewhere.

"Baka ningen girl…," he muttered to himself.

Hiei turned around to go back out the door when his foot suddenly slipped. He glanced down. In the dark he could just barely make out the small puddle of dark red blood.

"_Damn_ it! They must have thought she was Myrani." Hiei seemed to disappear into thin air as he ran out of the room at a speed only he could.


	3. Truths Revealed

Chapter: Truths Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma was still looking into the face of the deep voiced man. Thousands of questions filled her mind, her fear was only surpassed by her curiosity.

"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?"

"Me?" He laughed. "My name is Zakoto. But it's not important who _I_ am, but who _you_ are, my dear Myrani."

"Myrani?."

"They mustn't have told her yet, my lord," said the slimy voice from the corner of the room. Keiyma looked nauseously at the face of her attacker. He wore dirty, torn rags that were almost the same color as his pale skin. He was the epitome of creepiness, with his wide, gray eyes and hairless, and emaciated body.

"I guess not, Itachi," Zakoto said to the man. He turned back to Keiyma. "You see, they didn't even tell why they were all so very interested in you. How can you trust someone who keeps such secrets from you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You are Myrani Sakai. You have an incredibly strong spirit, with the potential to become one of the world's most powerful fighters. You can unleash that power with my help. Imagine it, complete control over you're life. Nobody would ever be able to hurt you, or push you around."

Keiyma listened to his words for a moment and began imagining them to be true. She'd always longed to be in control. Never again would she have to face the torment other people had put her through. She snapped back into reality focused her gaze on to Zakoto's glittering brown eyes.

"I understand," she whispered.

"Then join me. Join me and embrace your _destiny_."

"I understand that you're a total PSYCHO," she yelled at him. He scowled menacingly and looked as though he was about to yell at her but then smiled.

"You're a little firecracker, aren't you?" he asked with a superior laugh. Keiyma made a face, which just made him laugh louder.

Zakoto stopped. There was a loud noise coming from the ceiling above them. He looked up at it and frowned.

"Why is it that you can never find a villainous hideout with proper ventilation units?" he said, and then chuckled, impressed at his own wit.

Keiyma slowly sat up on the musty brown couch where she had lain and rubbed her head. It was still very sore from Itachi's attack on her, and the bewildering ordeal she was going through now wasn't helping.

"_Move to your left,"_ came a sudden voice.

"What?" Keiyma asked, looking around the room. Zakoto raised an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't say anything."

"But..." Keiyma began, confused, but was hushed when the voice appeared again.

"_Shut up! Don't say anything to them. Move over to the left."_ Keiyma recognized the voice this time to be Hiei's. However, she continued to sit there unmoving, baffled as to how she, and she alone, could be hearing Hiei if there was no Hiei to be seen.

"_NOW!"_ boomed the voice. Keiyma sprung up from her seat, ignoring the sudden rush of pain she felt, and ran to her left. She turned around in time to see the air vent above where she had been sitting burst open. The short, spiky-haired form of Hiei fell from it and landed on the couch.

"HIEI!" Keiyma yelled, completely caught up in the moment. He ignored her and stayed focused on the man in front of him.

"Great job, Zakoto. Not only did your associate," he began, pointing a thumb at Itachi, "get the wrong girl, but you made me have to come all the way here to your 'secret' lair, which Kurama sniffed out months ago, to get her back."

"You're lying," huffed Zakoto.

"Look, I'd love to stay here and explain it all to you, but your highly developed stupidity could be contagious," Hiei added with a smirk.

Keiyma laughed slightly at this. Hiei walked over to her and picked her up in his arms bridal-style, startling her. She suddenly felt a tremendous gust of wind whip into her face. It was such an immense pressure that she had to press her face against Hiei's chest in order to avoid it.

She carefully lifted her eyes from the protection of Hiei's shirt. His face was serious and incredibly alert. She looked towards the left and right and saw swirls of colors flashing past her at an insanely fast rate. The whirring blues, greens, reds, and yellows made her feel as though her head was spinning. Feeling sick, she buried her head back against Hiei.

Keiyma stayed there, pressed against the warm black cotton of his shirt. It felt… cozy.

Suddenly, the rush of wind against her side suddenly stopped and a wave of inertia pushed her forward. It would have caused her to slam right onto the ground if Hiei hadn't been holding her so tightly.

She lifted her head and opened her eyes. Hiei's face came into her vision. She gazed into it for a brief moment, and he gazed back at her. He then placed her gently back down on the ground.

Still quite dizzy, Keiyma turned around to find herself in Shiori and Kurama's living room. Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the blonde girl they had gone after at the fair were all there. She also noticed a blue-haired girl sitting on an oar and an old pink-haired woman.

Keiyma blinked.

"I guess we have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Kurama said nervously.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"All right, so let me get this straight," Keiyma said, fifteen minutes later, sitting in a chair with her hands pressed against the sides of her face. "You're detectives who fight against evil demons from another world called Makai, working for a baby named Koenma. Kurama's an ancient fox spirit with... plant-power, Hiei's a speedy little fire demon with three eyes who can read minds, Yusuke died and came back to life to become the apprentice of Genkai, Botan is the Grim Reaper, and Kuwabara has a sword made of his spirit."

"Bingo!" yelled Botan.

Keiyma glanced at the blonde girl from the fair. "And what are you, a mermaid?"

"I'm Etsu Nakamura. Apparently, I'm who those guys were _really_ after," said the girl. She had an uncommonly squeaky voice.

"But, aren't they after someone named Myrani?"

"I can explain that!" said Botan cheerfully. "You see, fifteen years ago, there was a human child born named Myrani Sakai. A very old and powerful Jaganshi predicted that this babe would be able to contain the most powerful spirit in the universe. It was not certain of her future, or whether her power would be unleashed as a force of good or evil. Word of Myrani spread to the ears of demons. Among them was Zakoto. He attempted to kidnap Myrani, planning to raise her to rule beneath him, killing both of her parents in the process. The Jaganshi knew of this attack ahead of time and hid the child with a fake mother and father. He used his power to alter their memories into thinking that the child had always been theirs. The Jaganshi didn't tell a single soul of the child's new whereabouts. He simply sent a letter to Koenma saying that, in fifteen years, at the exact fair you came from, his spirit detectives would find her, and that they would notice a distinguishing mark on her."

Etsu pointed to the heart shaped birthmark on her face and beamed.

"Zakoto found out through spies that the girl would be at the fair, however, they didn't know how to recognize her. His lackey saw you accompanying the detectives and simply assumed you were Myrani," Botan finished, taking a deep breath.

Keiyma started laughing. "This is all just a joke, right?"

"No, Keiyma. Everything we've said is true." Kurama said sincerely.

Keiyma just sat there for a moment, her head pounding.

"This is too much. I think I need to just... go lie down for a while," she said, rising to her feet and walking up the stairs to her room.

When she got there, she crawled in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind should have been going crazy right now, but, as she lay there, it was completely blank.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Kurama walk into the room through the open door, which she had forgotten to shut, and sit on her bed.

"Are you okay?" His tone said he was genuinely concerned. Keiyma paused for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, looking up at him. He sighed.

"Sometimes people keep secrets because they're afraid people will treat them differently if they know. It wasn't that I don't trust you.

Keiyma considered his words for a moment. She didn't want to tell Kurama anything about her past, so how could she be mad at him for keeping something a secret?

"I hope that you aren't too upset by everything. I really do enjoy having you as my guest here, and still very much want you to stay."

Keiyma smiled at him. Even though everything she had known about him had been a lie, she felt as though she understood him. Maybe not what he is, but who he is, as a being. She sat up and pulled Kurama into a warm embrace. Keiyma had never hugged, or been hugged by someone in return. At least, not like this. Not… happily.

"Thank you... for everything." She whispered to him, and then pulled away. She saw Kurama's look of surprise at such a display of emotion from her. "But don't you EVER keep something like this from me again, got it?" she said, very acutely.

He held back a little laughter.

"Got it." He said, just as she let out a huge yawn.

"Goodnight, Kurama"

"Goodnight, Keiyma. Sleep well." He said, before flicking out the light switch. Keiyma's eyes immediately welcomed the darkness, and shut, bringing her into a deep sleep.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma woke up woke up in the morning, and shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight that came from her room. She showered in the bathroom next to her room and then slipped into a fluffy bath robe and made her way down the stairs. She found Etsu, who was also staying at the house, sitting at the kitchen table, strumming her long, pink-nailed fingertips on it.

"Finally, you're here! I've been waiting at least ten minutes. I'd like two eggs, poached, not fried. Also an English muffin with grape jelly," Etsu ordered.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, go on."

Keiyma stared.

"What are you waiting for?"

"You to realize that I'm notthe maid."

"Oh. Sorry." She didn't sound sorry. "Well, why are you here, then?"

Keiyma didn't answer. She just sat down and poured herself a bowl of cereal with the ingredients on the table.

"Well, _anyway_..." Etsu began, obviously annoyed. "I'm so excited about everything! I guess I'm like some kind of goddess, or something." She grinned. "I always knew that this beauty mark I had was special."

"Uhmm… yeah, I guess."

"Everything is perfect! I love my life," Etsu squealed happily. Then she looked at Keiyma with sudden pity. "Oh. I guess shouldn't talk about that, huh? I mean, I don't want to offend you. I'm sure you've had a... well, less than charmed life."

"What?"

"I can tell just by looking at you that you grew up poor. And, uck, your nose!" Keiyma self-consciously touched her nose. "You poor thing. You probably used to get into fights in the alley over old sandwiches or something."

"No, that is _not_ what–"

"Oh, you don't need to hide it, it's okay. Now, I know you can't learn anything from the people around here, but, it would be my pleasure to teach you how to act properly."

"Now _look_–"

"Good morning!" Kurama had entered the kitchen. He noticed the look of anger on Keiyma's face. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine," she said and began walking past him toward the back door.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma stepped outside the house and into the backyard, inhaling the morning air. She admired the graceful beauty of the colorful fall leaves and the dewiness of the grass. She sat at the base of a large maple tree, leaning her back against the trunk as she listened to the soft music of nearby birds.

She couldn't help but think how stunning and serene it was among nature.

"Yes, it is," came a voice from atop the tree. Keiyma jumped in surprise and looked up the tree to see Hiei sitting on a high branch.

"Do you _mind_? Those are my thoughts, you know."

"It's not as if you're thinking about anything interesting."

"Yeah, well some things are private, okay?"

"You afraid of me, now, too?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. So many people avoid me once they know how easily I could read their every thought. In one second I could know all the little secret in their pathetic lives."

"Can you really blame them? I mean, aren't there things in your life that you don't want people to know?"

"Hn."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Thanks... for coming after me last night," Keiyma said.

"Kurama had asked me to take care of you. I'm a man of honor, don't think it was anything more."

Keiyma sighed.

"You're hopeless."

"Why don't you come up here and say that?"

Keiyma looked down at her feet. He knew she couldn't. She couldn't bear to be up so high in the air.

"It's our fears that make us weak," he said.

"Yeah, well unless you have some miracle anti-fear potion, I guess I'm out of luck."

Hiei smirked.

"Maybe I do. Meet me here at midnight."

"Why–? " she began, but he had disappeared before she had the chance. She wrinkled her brow, bemused.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma decided to take a walk around street to get her mind off of everything. For some reason, Hiei had put her in a better mood, a sort of excited curiosity. She went inside to change her clothes and leave again out the front door, saying she'd be back later, and leaving a puzzled Kurama.

She stepped outside for the second time and looked around at all the houses in the city. It was strange to see a neighborhood so peaceful. She'd remember in the past when she'd have to walk past screaming households, drug dealers, and groveling homeless people, just to get to school.

Early on in her life, Keiyma had figured out that in order to survive she needed to learn to defend herself, so she did. She practiced hard and long in her room and in empty allies, punching till her knuckles bled and kicking till her feet were bruised. She didn't mind the pain; since if she didn't feel it on her own someone was sure to issue it to her. It made her feel safe to know that she could put up a fight.

She never did it, though. She never fought back. Every time something bad came, an alarm would go off in her head, screaming for her to defend herself. But, she couldn't. She was too afraid. When she was little, she used to try and fight back… but, that always just created more pain.

Here, things were different . There was no constant threat against her. She wasn't alone anymore. She had people watching over her, people like Kurama, who had taken her into his home and his life without hesitation, trusting her immediately. Sure, Hiei acted unkindly towards her, but, it really wasn't that bad. At least he didn't pretend. He didn't act sickening sweet to her, then suddenly turn into a vicious beast. He didn't…

Keiyma broke off her thought when she noticed some shady looking figures inside a coffee house, next door to the diner she had stopped inside to eat lunch in a few hours before, as she'd been walking around for the whole day. She recognized them as a few of her schoolmates. She thought of maybe going inside to say hello to them, but reconsidered, convincing herself that they were from the past, a different life, and a different Keiyma. But, that didn't sit well with her.

What? Did she think she was better than them? Too important to waste time on them? She came from the same place. She's just as shady and stupid as them. She doesn't know how to act properly, just as Etsu said. All the good things that were happening for her were just a lucky break. She didn't deserve them.

'_You're gonna be a screw up no matter what I do.'_

Her mother was right. She was a screw-up. She wasn't valuable, not to the world or any person.

She ran back to Kurama's house, glad to see he wasn't around at the moment, to stop and question her. She scurried into her room, locking the door. She lied down on her bed and sobbed into her pillow until she fell asleep.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

She woke up around eleven, and just lay there. She should have expected to wake up in the middle of the night, considering how early she went to sleep. She didn't think about anything, didn't _want_ to think about anything. She just watched her digital clock blinking by every minute that passed.

Although she had been staring at it, the clock didn't really hold Keiyma's attention until she saw that it read twelve o'clock. It was midnight, the time that Hiei had asked, or rather told, her to meet him.

_Should I go out there? God, what's the point? I should just stay here, curled up in this be,d until I die._

"As entertaining as it would be to watch you die, that's not why I came up here," came Hiei's smooth voice. Keiyma sat up to see he was sitting in the windowsill.

"Ever heard of a thing called privacy, Hiei?"

"Ever heard of a thing called punctuality?" he responded. Keiyma huffed. "Are you going to come outside, or just stay in here and keep pitying yourself?"

"I wasn't–, "Keiyma started, before realizing that was, in fact, _exactly_ what she was doing. "Hang on, I'm coming," She said, pulling off her covers and standing up.

They both went outside, Hiei jumping down the window, Keiyma using the back door, and stood at the base of the maple tree they had met at in the morning.

"Why are we here?" Keiyma asked.

"To get you over your fear of heights."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Hiei smirked sneakily and disappeared. Suddenly, Keiyma felt a powerful gust of air, barely a second long, and found she was atop of the maple tree's highest branch, thirty feet in the air. Keiyma whimpered and grabbed onto the trunk of the tree. She saw Hiei back on the ground and glared at him.

"HIEI! This isn't FUNNY!" she yelled, not loud enough to wake up the neighborhood, but enough to show she was upset

"You want to get over your fear, don't you? Then jump, Keiyma."

"What? I can't!"

"Yes, you can. I don't want to be stuck as your squeeze toy the next time something goes a little too high off the ground. Come on, don't let yourself be weak. I'll be here to catch you."

"You promise?"

"I'm a man of honor, remember?"

Keiyma whimpered again, and began to tremble heavily. She took a deep breath and let go of the tree, taking a small step forward.

She couldn't do it. Her arms wrapped back around the tree.

Hiei sighed.

"I thought you could handle this, but I guess I overestimated you. You really are pathetic," he said, walking away.

A determined glint appeared in Keiyma's eye.

"Wait!" she begged.

Keiyma carefully let go of the tree once more, shaking. Her eyes were wide open, too afraid to shut.

She bent her knees and jumped off the branch.

A rush of wind pushed against her, colors whirling passed. It reminded her of when Hiei had carried her away from Zakoto's lair. She felt the same contentment that she had felt when she pressed her head against him.

The fall was quick. She and she soon felt the warmth of Hiei's arms around her. She smiled at him as he put her down.

"I guess we've both faced our greatest fears," he said, with a smirk. Keiyma looked confused.

"What's your–?"She began curiously, but he disappeared again before she could finish. Keiyma chuckled to herself.

_He certainly has a knack for getting the last word. _

She went back upstairs to her room and she fell into a peaceful slumber.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

When Keiyma woke up the next morning, she made her way down to the kitchen, where she smelled something positively delectable. It was strange to have someone else cook for her. She had grown used to making her own food.

_She was in the kitchen, cautiously stepping toward her mother, who was busy preparing a drink with the tall bottles she kept in the high cupboard. Though Keiyma was too small to reach the cupboard, her mother insisted upon locking it, insisting that the bottles were not for her 'greedy little hands'._

'_Mommy, what's for dinner?'_

_Her mother glared at her. 'What?'_

'_What… what are we having for dinner?'_

'_Are you kidding me? I've only been home an hour, and you're already asking me for food?'_

'_I'm sorry, I was just–'_

'_Just what? Being a little pain in the ass? Fine.' Her mother walked over to the refrigerator and opened up the door to the freezer and yanked out a frozen steak. 'Here's your goddamn dinner.'_

_She slammed the frozen steak against her daughter's face, forcing her back against a wall. She let go, causing the steak to fall down to Keiyma's feet, revealing a stream of blood surging from Keiyma's now broken nose. She began crying, screaming in pain. Her mother stepped away, annoyed with the cries._

'_You can cook it yourself. I'm not a fucking maid.'_

When Keiyma entered the kitchen, she found Kurama sitting at the table reading the paper and Shiori was bustling around the stove. She was glad to see Etsu wasn't awake yet.

"What smells so good?" she asked as she took a seat next to Kurama.

"I just made some blueberry muffins. My famous recipe!" Shiori said happily, placing one of the baked goods on a Keiyma's plate.

Keiyma picked up the muffin and bit into it. Her heart skipped a beat. Warm and sweet, she'd never tasted anything so good. Every meal that the amiable woman made seemed above and beyond, but this was incomparable.

"It's delicious!" Keiyma said happily, stuffing the rest of the muffin into her mouth all at once.

Shiori gave a pleased smile before stepping out of the room to, regrettably enough, wake up Etsu.

"Wow. The last time I saw anyone eat like that was when Hiei discovered ice cream." Kurama said, laughing heartily. The mention of Hiei's name reminded Keiyma of his words the night before.

"Hey, Kurama... I know this sounds strange, but, what's Hiei's biggest fear?" she asked suddenly.

Kurama eyed her suspiciously.

"Not planning some kind of attack on him are you?" He replied jokingly.

Keiyma laughed.

"Maybe," she said, grinning.

"Well," he began, looking at her thoughtfully. "Hiei's one of the bravest people I know. The only thing that he ever seems to be truly afraid of is… well, caring about someone. I think that's why he always acts cold toward people. He wants to avoid going into relationship where he might get hurt."

"Why would he ever be afraid of something like that?"

"He's had a life full of rejection. He finds it easier just to be alone."

"Oh."

_I faced my fear of heights by falling... could he have faced his own fear by caring for me?_

"Why did you ask?" Kurama said, tilting his head to the side somewhat.

"No reason," Keiyma said quickly, shrugging.

"Morning." Came the squeaky voice of Etsu. Keiyma watched as she picked up a muffin from the counter and bit into it. She formed a sickened face before spitting it out the bit of muffin into the trash. "Honestly, the food here is so disgusting."

Keiyma scowled, but Kurama made no reaction to show he'd heard.

Etsu was either unbelievably inconsiderate or the biggest idiot on Earth. Keiyma was more inclined toward the second answer.

If she becomes the most powerful being in the world, everyone is doomed.


	4. Emotion

Chapter: Emotion

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

After eating breakfast, Keiyma took a shower and changed into a new pair of jeans and a red long-sleeved shirt. Once she was dressed, she went into the living room where she found Yusuke and Genkai sitting, already in conversation. They didn't seem to notice her.

"What do ya mean, I have to help her train?" cried Yusuke.

"You've been my apprentice long enough. If you're really not a fool it should be easy for you," replied Genkai.

"In case you haven't noticed, Etsu's not really the easiest person to get along with."

"Oh yes, and you're certainly a bushel of fun. Just go through the basics with her, she should be able to pick up," said Genkai.

Yusuke groaned and Keiyma smirked.

She wasn't the only one who didn't particularly care for Etsu.

Sure, Kurama and Kuwabara were nice to her, but that didn't really count. Kurama was accepting towards everyone and Kuwabara was _friendly_ to anyone with legs. She doubted anyone else could stand her.

"Keiyma?" came Shiori's voice from the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind terribly picking up some milk for me at the store?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks. Hang on, I'll get you some money."

"Don't worry about it," Keiyma said, grabbing her coat and walking out the door.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma hummed calmly to herself as she walked down the dusty sidewalk, slightly swinging the shopping bag that hung down by her side.

She found Hiei sitting on the porch of the house.

"Don't you ever leave?" She asked him, a bit snappier than she had intended.

"Just making sure you haven't run Kurama's house to the ground."

"Trust me, if I wanted to wreck it, it would be long gone."

"I never said you'd do it intentionally," he said, smirking slyly.

Keiyma couldn't think of a reply and instead started to go inside the house.

"Wait," Hiei said softly. Keiyma almost fainted at the change in his tone. Instead of his usual, cruel voice, it was almost... nervous.

She stopped and turned back to him.

"Yeah?" she said, rubbing her arm with her hand uneasily.

"You're a girl, right?"

Keiyma blushed.

"Do you really need to ask?"

"No, I just… Keiyma, this is serious."

"What's wrong?"

"You know what I said yesterday, about how we both faced out fears?"

Keiyma's pulse quickened.

"Yes."

"I didn't tell you what my fear was. I wasn't ready to let it out yet, but I've thought about it, and I'm going to tell you." took a deep breath.

It was clear to her that this was a very rare occurrence, and very few–if any–had seen such feelings from Hiei.

"My greatest fear was to feel affection for someone." He looked down to avoid whatever look she would give him.

Outside, Keiyma was only giving a blank stare, but, inside, her breath had caught in her chest.

Kurama was right. Hiei's fear was to love.

The ferocious fire demon is experiencing the most genuine and gentle feeling in the world… for her.

Can that be true? Could someone really care about her? She mentally crossed her fingers.

Keiyma looked intently upon Hiei, hoping he would sense her stare and go on. She concentrated her eyes steadily, careful not to blink, as though she believed that they could control his movement.

"I love..." he paused, taking another breath.

Keiyma's eagerness was building up inside her. It was almost unbearable.

"I love Etsu Nakamura," he said, closing his eyes in a wincing manner, as though unprepared for what could happen to him.

"W-What?"

Keiyma felt her body tense, and an enormous chill passed over her, the bitter cold burning into her. Her lower lip was quivering, ignoring her commands to stop.

"Could you just talk to her? I mean... just find out what thinks of me."

"Hiei, I'm not exactly _friendly_ with her."

"Just try!" he begged.

His pleading eyes turned full of rage and he then pushed Keiyma roughly against the door of the house.

It was strange. Having him pressed against her like that felt… nice. But, she couldn't stand the horribly familiarity of the position and tried, unsuccessfully, to break away.

"If you tell anyone about this, and I mean ANYONE, I'll make your life a living Hell," Hiei barked, shoving even harder against her.

"I'll try Hiei," she answered very softly. "Please, get off of me."

He backed away from her and quickly disappeared. Keiyma stared blankly at where the demon had just stood. Her head began to pound with the frantic voice of her inner monologue.

_Of course he loves her. She's gorgeous, wealthy, and powerful. She's not a low class mutt like I am I just thought that, maybe… maybe, there was someone who appreciates me. God, I'm such an idiot._

As her mind debated, Keiyma felt a lump start to form in her throat. It was tightening and choking her so that she couldn't breathe. She opened the door of the house and stepped in, putting the shopping bag she'd been carrying on the small coffee table by the entrance. Kurama walked over to pick it up, but paused when he saw Keiyma's face.

It was very pale, her eyes were puffy and mixed with shock, angst, and resentment. They were glazed over, showing that she was dazed and lost in her thoughts. Her lips were slightly parted, and he noted that no air seemed to pass through them.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked holding on to her shoulders, concerned.

Her eyes didn't focus on to him. She simply brushed passed, walking up the stairs. He stared after her, worried, but completely unsure of what to do.

Keiyma closed the door to her room and turned the lock. She finally felt able to breath, and gasped for the air. After the first fresh gulp of oxygen, her breathing became quick and ragged, choked in sobs. She then looked up, breathing easily, as though time was suddenly stopped.

_Wait... why am I so upset by this? So, the world's dealt me a bad hand, am I just going to let that take over me? No, I won't just give in. I refuse to accept this. I refuse to lose. I will thrive and be strong. I will fight. I will prove myself._

_No more tears…_

Keiyma took a deep breath and laughed a little. Her expression seemed determined, but traces of sadness still blemished her face.

She ran her fingers through her long hair and unlocked the door, opening it to find Kurama pacing in front of her. He looked up, mildly embarrassed.

"Is everything–"he began, tilting his head to the side. Keiyma cut him off before he could finish.

"You ask that a lot, you know," she said, smiling. "Everything's great," she added, a smirk appearing. "I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" Kurama yelled out as the girl ran down the steps and out the door.

She didn't respond, but he was sure she had heard him.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma walked behind Genkai, Yusuke, and Etsu, careful not to reveal her position. Genkai and Yusuke were closest to her, in discussion, and Etsu was somewhere up ahead.

Keiyma's mind was swarming with an aggressive thirst for power. She didn't depart from her thoughts until she heard her name spoken amongst the conversation in front of her.

"Honestly, I think Keiyma needs to chill." It was Yusuke's voice. "She has a break down every five minutes. I mean, _I_ didn't exactly grow up in a dream situation, either, but I don't lock myself in my room, pouting, all the time."

"You really are an idiot, you know." Genkai replied, shaking her head.

"_Damn _it, what did I do know?" he asked angrily.

"Obviously, your awareness isn't nearly as strong as I thought it was."

"What do you mean?"

Genkai smirked.

"It's not wise to insult people standing behind you," she said, watching in humor as he quickly jumped and spun around to face Keiyma.

"Why, hello there, Yusuke!" Keiyma said in a cheery manner.

"Keiyma! Yeah... I knew you were there the whole time. You see, I was just... uhmm... joking around?" he said nervously, adding an uneasy chuckle.

"Mmhmm. Of course," she said, adding a little nod to mock him. Yusuke blushed with embarrassment.

"Well, what are you following us for anyway?" he asked irritably.

Keiyma crossed her arms over her chest.

"Just looking for a place to train, if that's all right."

"No, it's not, now go home," said Yusuke stubbornly, sticking out his tongue at her.

"I wasn't asking _you_. I was asking Genkai." She turned to face the old woman.

"Very well. I'll get you situated once we arrive."

Keiyma nodded her thanks and turned to face Yusuke's sudden outburst.

"Hey Suriei! I'll race you the rest of the way!"

"You're on!"

They both began running at top speed toward Genkai's temple.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma came to a stop at the stone building, panting, and glaring at Yusuke, who was peacefully leaning against the wall.

"Oh, is that you Keiyma! Why, I haven't seen you in ages! So what have you been up to, besides EATING MY DUST?" he said to her, laughing like a maniac.

"Shut up. You cheated anyway." Keiyma growled.

"It's not my fault you're so slow."

"YOU PUSHED ME INTO A QUARRY!"

"You should have been more alert!" he said, smirking as her face fumed. "Don't worry," He gave her a reassuring smile. "you would have lost anyway!" He started laughing again.

Keiyma cussed viciously, leaving a shocked Yusuke.

"Where did _that_ come from?"

She shrugged.

"Talk about a personality change…"

Keiyma didn't want to say anything. Luckily, she didn't have to, because Genkai arrived and told Yusuke to cut the chitchat and start training Etsu.

"Well, where is she then?" he asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm... here," came a shrill voice full of deep, gasping breaths. They looked over to see Etsu running frantically–and rather pitifully–towards them.

Yusuke sighed at the sight of his newly found student and gave Genkai a pleading look, which was replied to without a single ounce of sympathy.

"Well, come on," he groaned, pulling the dippy girl inside the temple, looking very annoyed with the whole ordeal.

"Where do you want to begin?" said Genkai, causing Keiyma to turn her attention to the woman.

"I need a weapon. I was thinking maybe something like Kuwabara's spirit sword."

"Well," Genkai began, chuckling. "you can try to create one. Just don't be surprised if you're spirit energy can't handle it."

"I'll deal with that if it happens. Now, how do I make one?"

"Usually, such a spirit weapon is produced when a person experiences a large amount of danger. You can also try to focus all of your energy into creating a weapon. This is you best bet, but it will leave you exhausted afterward if you're successful."

"Nothing left but to do it." Keiyma rolled up her sleeves.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating her mind. She tried to picture a sword, its texture, its weight, its strength, envisioning holding it within her hands. She focused and tensed all the muscles in her body, yelling out as loud as she could.

Keiyma peeked open her eyes to see what she hoped was a newly formed sword.

Her hands were empty.

She scoffed at her own failure and then closed her eyes to try again.

"There's really no point." Genkai's voice rang, causing Keiyma to reopen her eyes a second time.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't sense enough spirit energy within you. No matter how hard you push yourself, you'll be incapable of creating a weapon."

"You can sense spirit energy?"

"Not everyone can, it's an acquired skill."

"So, that's how you can tell Etsu is so powerful?"

"Yes and no. I sense absolutely no spirit energy in Etsu. It is believed that the Jaganshi who hid her also used a spell to mask her power, so that foul demons wouldn't be able to find her."

"I see." Keiyma said, bowing her head down.

"Why don't you go into one of the rooms inside to train? I doubt I can really help you, but you're welcome to use the equipment I have."

"All right. Thank you"

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma walked up the steps and through the door, passing through a long hallway. She glanced in the rooms for one that appealed to her, finally deciding on an area with a punching bag and several weights spread out.

She stretched and walked inside, picking up a medium sized weight. She began doing reps, but stopped when Yusuke's voice echoed through the building.

"Can't you do ANYTHING?"

Keiyma put down the weight and followed the sound. She looked in to see Yusuke trying to pull out his hair and Etsu sitting down on the ground frowning.

"You know, for a natural born fighter, you're a REALLY slow learner."

"Hey! This stuff is hard, okay?" she whined.

"You were supposed to use your energy to hit me, not _poke_ me!"

"I WAS hitting you! You're just too strong to feel it."

Keiyma smirked at the disgraceful scene that was taking place before her. It's not that she wouldn't enjoy watching Etsu fail, but she decided she had better go back to the room and train further.

_No point in standing around waiting while everyone else gets stronger. I promised to fight and I will. I'll become just as powerful as them! Then nobody will look down on me._

Keiyma went back inside the room, but instead of heading toward the weights, she went to the punching bag. She concentrated and drew back her arm, driving her fist as hard as she could into the bag. She pulled it back and pounded again with her other fist, repeating over and over again. Motivated by all her failures, she began a flurry of non-stop punching fury.


	5. Dreams

Chapter: Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma was soaked in sweat, but she continued to beat the punching bag senseless. She had no idea how much time had passed and was oblivious to the extreme strain on her body, its aching screams for her to stop, to rest.

She tried to resist it, but the intensity eventually wore her down past her limits. She yelled as her power left her, along with her consciousness, and she fell down to the floor with a thud.

**O-o-Dream Sequence-o-O**

"Get up, you stupid girl," Zakoto growled.

He kicked the form of a person who sobbed in return. Their face was engulfed and hidden by the darkness.

"M-master... I'm sure it's her. I heard them talking. They spoke of the prophecy and how they found her. She has to be Myrani." Itachi said, trembling, kneeling fearfully to Zakoto.

"No. This creature is weak. She didn't even attempt to save herself, she just pleaded for mercy, begging me, willing to obey my every wish in return for her pathetic life.

"She has to be! They said–"

"Imbecile! Do you dare question me?"

"Never!" Itachi cried. He fell to the floor and began kissing Zakoto's feet.

"That isn't necessary," Zakoto said, pulling away from the groveling servant. "Perhaps your failure may still work to our advantage. This isn't Myrani. But, the spirit detectives have yet to figure that out. We can use her."

Zakoto bent down and pulled up his prisoner by her blonde hair.

"You are going to be our spy, little girl. You will discover the weaknesses of each detective. You will tell us how to kill them all." He moved his face closer boring his eyes into hers. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes... my lord," squeaked Etsu.

**-End Dream-**

"Hello? EARTH TO KEIYMA!"

Keiyma woke with a start at the scream, holding her poor, damaged ear.

She looked up to see Genkai, Yusuke, and Etsu all standing above her.

"What happened to you?" Etsu asked, offhandedly. Keiyma's eyes widened in remembrance and she fiercely pushed the girl to the ground.

"BACK OFF, SPY!" she yelled, raising her fist angrily at the now terrified Etsu.

"Keiyma, calm down. What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Yusuke.

"She's a spy... I saw it all! She works for Zakoto! She gave you all up to save herself. We can't trust her!"

"What? Where did you see this?"

"Before you woke me up. She agreed to work for him. She called him her _lord_!"

"Keiyma!" Yusuke rubbed his forehead, annoyed. "You mean you DREAMED it?"

"I-I..." Keiyma began, and then stared down at the floor, dumbfounded.

"Are you serious? You can't go around attacking people over DREAMS. Are you some kind of idiot?"

"Shut up! Why don't you just get the _hell _out of here and _leave me alone_?"

"Yeah sure, go ahead and bitch at me for helping you out..."

"I didn't need help."

"Whatever. I have to go finish training Etsu anyway," He said, dragging Etsu out the door.

Keiyma leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling.

"It just seemed so real," she whispered to herself.

She sighed, frustrated, and looked back down to see Genkai was still in the room.

"What is it now? Going to lecture me on how I'm too weak and useless to stand up?"

"Nice attitude," Genkai said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, like yours is any better," Keiyma replied stiffly.

Genkai raised her eyebrow.

"I can't help but wonder what it was that made you punch that bag so hard. I highly doubt you were simply training. Maybe... pretending it was someone else?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen girl, I've got much better hearing than my good-for-nothing apprentice. How do you think I discovered you'd fainted? We were right next to the porch where you were talking to Hiei. I heard the conversation."

Keiyma flinched.

"So what?"

"It's not like I've never experienced unrequited love myself. It takes over even the strongest among us."

"Unrequited love?"

"Obviously you haven't even admitted your feelings to yourself, yet. Well, until you can, you won't be able to overcome them."

"I don't _have_ any feelings to admit."

"Whatever you want to believe. I mean, your mind wouldn't purposely dream thoughts of Etsu being a traitor so that you'd still have a chance with him, right?" Genkai said with a smirk. "I'll leave you to your training. Just, try not to pass out this time," she added, walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Crazy old hag," Keiyma muttered to the door.

Genkai was wrong. Keiyma didn't have feelings for Hiei. Not really.

She couldn't deny that it felt good to touch him, warm and comfortable. It felt as though everything was right in the world. It was a feeling she had never had before.

But that was nothing. She didn't love him. She thought maybe _he_ cared for her. It was stupid, but, god, she wanted it so bad. Someone who really cared for her, who didn't just want to hurt her…

Was that so much to ask?

Keiyma wanted to cry, but she didn't. She had already promised herself she wouldn't. Not anymore. The unreleased emotion built up inside her, but she refused to let it out.

Suddenly, her eyes flickered.

She had an idea.

She felt aware of every muscle in her body. She felt her life force and her spirit moving through her, running through her body at great speed. She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing the spirit energy to move, gathering it in her hands.

The pain was horrible. It was as though she was being pulled apart. She wanted to quit, to stop hurting so badly, but she refused. Her mind worked harder as her strength grew weaker. There was an explosion of heat that coursed through her blood, which began to boil and bubble. She was burning, shaking like mad, her hair standing on end.

Finally, something gleamed in her hands…

…and she fell once more to the ground.

**O-o-Dream Sequence-o-O**

Zakoto sat in a tall golden chair in dimly lit room. The décor around him was dark and gloomy, yet impeccably tasteful. Zakoto casually read the newspaper in front of him, sipping something red from a long wine glass.

"I don't mean to disturb you, Master, but, I couldn't help myself. Forgive me, I must ask, if that girl wasn't Myrani, where is she? Do you think that the spirit detectives have yet to find her?"

"Maybe, Itachi. Or, perhaps they _have_ found her and are just too thick to realize it." He sighed. "Such a pity. We may have had the girl in our clutches and lost her."

"The girl... Keiyma was her name."

"Yes, Keiyma," Zakoto said, chuckling. "She was certainly an entertaining girl. I can't say I would despise meeting her again. Though she may not be as easy to manipulate as Etsu, I'm sure we'll find a way. Perhaps you should keep an eye on the ningen while Etsu watches the detectives. Then we'll know for sure."

"Thank you, Master! I am beyond words!" Itachi cried, throwing himself to the ground to worship Zakoto.

"I know, I know, now get out of my sight."

Itachi stood and bowed low before quickly scurrying out of the room.

Zakoto smirked at the speed at which his newly appointed spy ran from the room. He knew Itachi lived to serve him in hopes that he would spare his pathetic life. He knew it, and he loved it.

**-End Dream-**

"Wake up, girl! You did it," came the rough voice of Genkai.

Keiyma woke up. She held her head, which was aching from exhaust.

"I did it? I made a spirit weapon?" Keiyma attempted to stand up, but Genkai stopped her.

"Yes, you did, but you need to rest for a minute before you get up."

"I can't believe I–!" Keiyma stopped and suddenly frowned. "How did you know I was trying to make a spirit weapon?"

"I was watching you. I knew you could do it, I just thought I'd give you a little 'pep talk' to motivate you." Keiyma glared. "Don't you get all pissed off at me. You wanted a weapon and you got one."

"Fine. You're forgiven. Where is it? I haven't even seen it yet. What kind of weapon is it?"

"I don't know, I didn't see it long enough. It disappeared immediately when you passed out. You're going to have to unleash it again to see."

"WHAT? I have to do all of that _again_?"

"Don't be such a child. Yes, you have to unleash it again, but, now that it's been created, summoning won't be as difficult. It grows easier every time."

"Okay, I'll try. I just hope don't fall down again. Twice a day is my limit." Keiyma said, closing her eyes.

She concentrated her energy again. The push that seemed to prevent her from collecting energy had weakened, though she still felt pain in her head. There was a sudden tension and release as the pain left her. She felt burning heat in her right hand, then in her left. Confused, Keiyma suddenly sprung her eyes open.

She stared down to find a menacing dagger in each of her hands.

The silver blades were frighteningly sharp and shined brightly. The handles were bluish-black, except at the tips where they gleamed a rich gold. Identical sapphires were lodged into the front center and the back of each dagger had a symbol engraved. One read 'light' and the other, 'dark'.

They looked _real_.

Keiyma stared in absolute aw.

"I didn't think that spirit weapons would be so beautiful."

"They're not."

Keiyma huffed.

"Do you have to insult everything I do?"

"I'm not. Spirit weapons don't look like that. They're one color. They take the shape of a weapon, but, I have never seen or heard of an emulation so… precise." Genkai wrinkled her brow.

Keiyma wasn't listening. She was feeling incredibly lightheaded. Suddenly, the weapons disappeared and Keiyma leaned against the wall. She was still awake, but too exhausted to use her spirit.

"We'll talk more later. You need rest now. Can you make it upstairs on your own? There's a mattress in the first room to the right where you can sleep." Genkai said quickly.

Keiyma nodded and slowly began to make her way to the bed for much needed rest and relaxation.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma stood up and stretched. The nap had done her well, but she still felt poorly. She looked around the hallway and was pleased to discover a bathroom with a large shower. Before she went in, Genkai called up, obviously hearing Keiyma walking around, and told her that she would wash her clothes if she left them outside the door.

Keiyma thanked her and went inside the bathroom. She undressed, reopened the door a crack, and placed her clothes outside. She then turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower.

All her muscles immediately began to relax at the massaging heat. She gently washed her body, humming to herself as she went along. Once she was completely clean and feeling significantly better, Keiyma turned the faucet and ceased the steady flow of water.

Keiyma stepped out of the shower and grabbed a white towel that was hanging on a rack attached to the bathroom wall. She started to dry off her body when she heard a strange noise.

A noise that sounded an awful lot like _breathing_.

Eyes darting around the room, Keiyma searched for an intruder, but found herself alone.

She dismissed the noise and continued toweling off, only to find the noise had returned. She looked around, but, once again, found nothing.

She pulled herself together, convincing herself it was just her imagination.

Imagination or not, it was still _scary._

Deciding she was dry enough, she dressed as quickly as possible and ran out of the room.

In her rush, Keiyma didn't hear the faint voice from outside the bathroom window the creepy, slimy little voice.

"_And so the hunt begins."_


	6. Rediscover The Reality

Chapter: Rediscover The Reality

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

Notes: "Ardention" is not a real word. I thought the word "ardent" described the situation perfectly, so I changed it into a noun.

Keiyma walked down the stairs to look for Genkai. She was surprised when she didn't just see Genkai, but also Botan, Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, and a baby whom she suspected was Koenma.

"...Hello," she said, quite bewildered at the group that had been awaiting her.

"Hello, hello!" said Botan, attempting to calm and reassure her. Though, it seemed to just freak Keiyma out a little more. "Well, we just came to see your new weapon! It's a big accomplishment, you know! Although, Genkai was a bit, err, stingy on the details. She seemed to think we'd like to see it for ourselves."

"Uh, sure," Keiyma said, uncomfortable with all the eyes focused on her.

She was especially uncomfortable with Hiei's, and made a point to avoid looking at him. Instead, she glanced up at Genkai who gave her a curt nod.

Keiyma summoned her daggers and looked around at everyone, waiting for some type of reaction.

They all gaped at her.

"HEY! What's the big deal? How come she gets those TWO frickin' awesome weapons and all I get is a rinky-dink sword?" Kuwabara demanded, looking at Koenma.

"What? Well, uh, I, that is to say..." Koenma nervously began looking around the room for help. "OH!" he said suddenly, an uncertain smile appearing across his face. "I get it! You're playing a trick on me! Good one, you guys! April isn't for another few months though, you know!" He forced some laughter.

"No trick," said Genkai, causing a little gasp among the others and a little 'wow' from Botan.

"H-how? How did she...?" Yusuke asked.

"Is something wrong?" Keiyma interrupted, looking around the room.

"Not exactly. Your spirit weapon just looks a little different than most," Kurama said calmly.

"Yeah, _a little_." scoffed Yusuke.

"Well, what do normal spirit weapons look like?" Keiyma asked.

She turned to Kuwabara, who was looking extremely miffed about everything. He muttered irritably and reluctantly formed the orange blob that was his spirit sword.

Keiyma's eyes widened as she stared at the hideous mass. She couldn't believe that could be Kuwabara's spirit weapon. She turned her head back and forth between their weapons. Where hers was delicately detailed, his was harsh, looking more like a heap of light than a sword.

"You can see, now," Genkai said, causing Keiyma to turn her attention, "why your weapon was of so much interest to me."

"I don't understand," Keiyma said, returning her spirit. She turned to Koenma. "Hey, you're all-knowing or something, right? What exactly is wrong with me?"

"Aha! Yes, of course, I'm Koenma and I'm awesome! Of course I know! It's because... uhmm… well… Maybe the characteristics of the weapon depend on the artistic values of the holder's soul. Yes! Since your soul is more artistic than Kuwabara's, so is your spirit weapon!" Koenma said, nodding furiously.

"Hah. You know as well as I do that that's not true. Spirit weapons are based on spirit and nothing else," Hiei's voice cut through.

Keiyma turned to say something to Hiei, but, when she did, all she saw was his back walking out the door.

Why is he so upset with her?

She paused a minute and watched him leave. She found it difficult to tear herself away from him, even though she was discouraged. He was acting like a jerk, like usual, but there was something in his voice. Was it pain? Nothing was making any sense.

Keiyma quickly turned back to see Koenma pacing.

"It just doesn't make sense. Nobody would have this much spirit! Nobody except...," he stopped, suddenly looking up at Keiyma.

"...Myrani," Botan finished.

"What?" Keiyma asked suddenly. "Oh. You mean Etsu, right?"

"Yes... and no. At least, we thought, but... It must mean that..." Botan stammered.

"Wait a second, that doesn't make any sense! Etsu was at the fair like the prophecy said!" interrupted Yusuke.

"Well, so was Keiyma..." Kurama reminded.

"Yeah... well... what about her beauty mark, huh? 'While there, one spirit detective will notice a distinguishing mark upon her'. That's what it said!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Yeah! We already knew Keiyma, so, we didn't just notice anything about her," Kuwabara said pointedly.

Keiyma was confused and felt silly standing there, not remembering a single word of the prophecy. She couldn't contribute to the conversation if she wanted to, so she instead just nervously played with her hair, pulling it back behind her ear. She stopped when she noticed Kurama's eyes drop dead on her hand.

"Your hand..." he whispered.

"What?" Keiyma choked, then looked down at her hand. She saw the thin scar on her left hand, left over from when she bombarded through the fun house. "Yeah it's from..."

"The fair, I remember. I noticed it. I noticed... a mark. On you," he said, closing his eyes. "You're... Myrani."

"What? I can't be. Etsu is, remember?"

"It all makes sense. That's why she was so difficult for Yusuke to train. For once, it wasn't his fault," Genkai chuckled.

"I guess someone's going to have to tell Etsu she can go back home. That is, whenever Hiei's done talking to her. I don't think losing my head is worth the interruption. "Yusuke said, sliding his finger across his neck to show precisely where Hiei's katana would end up.

"This is crazy! Can you all just... leave me alone for a while? I need to clear my head," Keiyma yelled.

"Yeah, sure." They muttered and headed toward the door.

Keiyma sat down and watched them all leave, rubbing her poor, overworked mind.

When Botan got to the door she paused, then walked over to Keiyma.

"What is it?"

"Well, I just wanted to let you know, Genkai told me about the whole Hiei thing. Apparently she's not too good at girl talk." Botan giggled nervously. "Uhh... so, if you want to talk about it with me, I'd be more than willing to–"

"There _is_ no Hiei thing!"

"Of course there isn't. But, if you change your mind I'll be right across the hall." Botan said cheerfully before running out the door.

Keiyma sighed and sat with her head in her hands. She hoped that this was all dream, just so she didn't have to make sense of it all.

What if she couldn't do what they expected of her? Then… they'll leave her, won't they? If she couldn't help, if she wasn't what they were hoping for…

Keiyma stopped her thoughts and sat in the silence. But, she soon noticed, it wasn't perfectly silent. There were faint sounds of two people talking in the room next to her. She listened for a moment and realized that they belonged to Hiei and Etsu. Her heart sank in her chest, yet she couldn't help herself from pressing an ear against the door.

"You know what you said about your brother being murdered, how you lost him forever?"

"Yes, Hiei."

"I lost a sister. She wasn't killed, but... she was taken away from my life. That's why I got my Jagan eye, to help me find her."

"Oh, Hiei. That's... beautiful. You don't even know her, but you're trying to find her… How sweet. Your eye... what exactly does it do again?"

"I can read people's minds with it. Control them if they're weaker, things like that."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry, I'd never use it on you."

A high little giggle emerged from behind the door.

"Etsu… with all the losses that you've had, how alone you've felt… I feel like I can trust you."

"You can tell me _anything_, Hiei."

Keiyma pulled away from the door, refusing to listen to their conversation anymore, a terrible feeling of emptiness washing over her.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma knocked on the door in front of her, rubbing her hands together nervously. She just hoped this was the right room.

A surprised looking Kurama answered the door.

Before he had a chance to say anything, Keiyma jumped into his arms and attacked his lips with hers.

She was kissing him feverishly, desperately, her legs wrapped around his abdomen and her arms strung around his neck.

He was completely taken aback.

Keiyma finally released his lips, only to begin kissing his neck and collarbone with equal desperation.

"Keiyma," Kurama began breathlessly, "what are you doing?"

"Kissing you," she mumbled.

"Yes, I can see that. But _why_ are you kissing me?"

Keiyma stopped her administrations and looked into his beautiful green eyes.

"Kurama, you've been so good to me. Can't you just let me do this for you?"

Her eyes were puffy and swollen.

"You're not thinking straight–"

"Yes, I am! I want… I want to be _loved_." Her voice cracked into a sob and she started crying. She brought her legs back to the floor and stood, sobbing against Kurama's chest.

"Shhh… it's okay." Kurama stroked her hair affectionately. She lifted her head.

"Can't you… can't you just…?"

"Keiyma…"

She looked down in shame, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Kurama sighed.

"It's complicated."

"Please… at least tell me why."

"Alright. You see, every demon is born with someone whom they are destined to be with. There's a pull between the two that demonkind calls 'Ardention'. This pull is so strong that, if a demon were lucky enough to find his mate, he would be willing to die just to be with her for a moment."

He cupped her face in his hands.

"Tell me, when I touch you, do you feel anything? Does it feel _right? _Not just good, but _right_?"

His skin was warm and soft. It felt good to be held by him, but no strange sensations were coming over her. There was no warm contentment, no reassurance of the world.

It's not like when Hiei–

She shook her head. He let go of her.

"Some demons keep lovers before they find their soul mate, but, it's always meaningless. I don't want that."

Kurama lifted her chin so that Keiyma was looking at his face.

"I do love you and care about you, very much. I will always be here to protect you and to help you in any way. But, I cannot offer you what you seek, I'm sorry."

Keiyma hugged him as hard as she could, happy despite her tears.

"You don't understand. Even just this, even _anything,_ means so much to me," she whispered. He smiled.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma, having bid Kurama goodnight, was now at another door. She knocked quietly, far less nervous than she had been at the last door.

Botan opened the door and let her inside.

"Do you want to talk?" Botan asked, closing the door behind her.

That feeling she got when she touched him… She knew something didn't fit.

"Tell me about Etsu, about her life."

"Etsu? Hmm. Not much to say, really... she was an only child born to a wealthy couple who worked at home."

"She never had a brother?"

"A brother? No, she was definitely an only child."

"I see. Thank you, Botan."

"That's all you wanted to ask?"

"Yes. Goodnight, Botan," she said, walking out of the room.

Keiyma leaned against the door that was now closed behind her.

Etsu was lying to him. She's telling all this to him to get him to trust her. Why, though? Why would she be trying so hard to gain his trust?

Unless… unless that dream was real. It had felt so real. If Keiyma really is as powerful as they think, is it possible?

Keiyma glanced up suddenly and saw Etsu closing the door to where she and Hiei were talking. She was walking over toward the back exit.

Keiyma followed her.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

They had been walking through a thick wood for ages. Keiyma attempted to familiarize herself with the area, memorizing different parts of the path based on the trees, flowers, and unusual plants, without much success.

She was walking past an enormous mahogany tree, when Etsu suddenly stopped walking. Keiyma quickly hid behind the tree.

"Zakoto! Where are you?" Etsu yelled in her usual squeak.

"Shut up, you insolent twit," came the booming, deep voice of Zakoto.

He emerged from a portal of smoke so immensely black it was as though it was a cloud of nothingness draining the plush greens of the forest.

Just looking at the portal brought an inner cold to Keiyma. She didn't know why, but it reminded her of something. She didn't know what, but she loathed it.

"I'm sorry, Master, it won't happen again, I swear! It was just a lot easier when you'd come to me."

"Are you complaining to me?"

"N-no, Master. I came to tell you about my progress with the fire demon, Hiei. I've fully gained his trust. I have no doubt he'll tell me everything I want to know."

"Well, then. It seems that you _are_ good for something, after all." He smirked at her. "You'd best work fast, though. Itachi has just informed me that the detectives have discovered you aren't Myrani. They are now certain that the other girl, Keiyma, is."

"Already, huh? Well, she's an emotional wreck. I wouldn't even worry if I were you. "

"I never worry. Nevertheless, Itachi will continue to follow her to find her weakness. Then I'll do a little manipulating of my own."

"Brilliant, Master!"

"That I am. Now get back to the others. They're probably looking to tell you the news. Remember, mistakes are inexcusably." Zakoto entered the portal of smoke, fading away into thin air along with it.

Etsu turned around and began to hurry back. Keiyma quickly moved to the side of the tree so as to avoid being in her sight as she ran by.

Keiyma was about to run after her, but suddenly got an idea. She formed her daggers and marked an "X" upon the great mahogany tree.

She smiled at her work ran back to tell the others what she had seen.


	7. Mystery Of The Black Portal

Chapter: Mystery Of The Black Portal

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma ran back to Genkai's temple much faster than she had ever run in her life. She hoped that they would be able to sense Etsu and Zakoto's past presence by the tree.

She threw open the door and looked around the empty entrance. She yelled out for everyone to come over to her, but, even after several minutes, the room was still empty. They were all still fast asleep.

Unfortunately, she lost her patience.

"I SAID, get your ASSESdown here, you BAKAS!"

After a moment, all the spirit detectives were in front of her, looking cranky and exhausted.

"What, you ran?" Hiei asked Kuwabara, who was gasping for air.

"Of course! I'd never keep a lady waiting," he replied, grinning.

"Lady? Pfft! Did you even listen to the way she called us?" Yusuke frowned then whispered around to his friends, "Didn't I tell you she was acting weird?"

They nodded. Keiyma was too riled up to notice.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Etsu appeared from behind Hiei, smiling sweetly.

"It's funny you should ask, Etsu. I was just going to tell everyone about what I saw outside a few moments ago, but maybe you'd like to spare me the trouble."

Etsu's eyes widened.

"What's she talking about?" Hiei asked. Keiyma couldn't read his emotion.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Etsu choked.

"Oh, yes, you do." Keiyma glared. "Hiei, are you too stubborn to read her mind?"

"Hn."

"Fine. There's more than one way to skin a rat."

"Rat?" Yusuke asked. "Aw, not this again! Don't tell me you're ranting on about another DREAM!"

"I know I went overboard before," she began, ignoring Yusuke's scoff, "but this time it was real! I'm sure of it. I followed her outside. I _saw_ them together. She's Zakoto's informant, his 'little manipulator'. She's been playing us all to get information for him."

"Some of us... more than others," she added, making brief contact with Hiei's eyes before he looked away. "I can take you where they meet."

"There's no harm in looking, is there?" asked Kurama. The other detectives grudgingly agreed.

Keiyma smiled.

At least there was someone who believed her.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"I don't see any trees with X's on them, Keiyma. Nature's nice and all, but, next time you make us hike through the woods, make it for an actual reason," Yusuke yelled out.

"I know it's around here somewhere..." Keiyma mumbled to herself.

Keiyma walked around, staring at all the trees that passed. She came across a familiar area with an enormous mahogany tree.

No mark was left upon it.

That couldn't be right. It was here. She knew it. She was here. She had marked this tree. But… there was nothing there.

"Keiyma, this is getting pointless. Now, is there a tree, or not?" asked Yusuke, stomping through the brush behind her.

"Uh... maybe it fell down?" suggested Kuwabara.

Keiyma tried to ignore the arrogant grin on Etsu's face, which nobody else seemed to see.

"I think it would be for the best if we all just headed back," Kurama said, surprising her.

He didn't believe her, after all.

"Yeah." She nodded, defeated. "I guess it was just a dream."

They all turned to walk back, most of them looking annoyed.

Keiyma closed her eyes and fell against the mahogany tree. Her mind was blank. She wasn't angry, confused, or sad. She was nothing. She felt nothing.

There was a gentle breathing in front of her. She opened her eyes.

"Hiei, what-?"

"I'm reading your mind." He stared at her intently, focused just as he was when running at top speed.

"Oh." Keiyma said, suddenly embarrassed. "What do you see?"

"You weren't lying."

"I'm sorry, Hiei. I wish it could have turned out another way…" She looked at the ground. "Of all the weapons in the world, it's love that can hurt us the most."

There was no response. Keiyma looked up, expecting him to be gone.

But, he wasn't.

He was still staring at her, prying through her psyche. It was supremely unnerving not to know what thoughts he was seeing, what secrets he was uncovering. She shivered.

"You've been hurt a lot by love, haven't you?"

Keiyma was startled. She hadn't expected that to be what he was looking at inside her mind. She thought it would just be more information on Etsu.

She nodded.

"How?"

"Couldn't you just read that in my mind?"

"I could, but I'd rather hear it from you."

Keiyma shuffled her feet.

"People lie. They say that they love you, but it's just an act. They get you vulnerable so that… so they can do whatever they want to you."

"Who? Who did that to you?"

"_Everyone_." She sniffed.

Kurama said he cared about her, but he wouldn't even believe Keiyma about Etsu.

He doesn't feel 'right' when he touches her.  
But neither does she.

That night when Hiei had carried her away from Zakoto… She couldn't help but wonder…

Keiyma lifted up her hand and gingerly pressed her fingertips to Hiei's lips.

She didn't get a feeling like before.  
This time, it was ten thousand times stronger.

Calmness and correctness flooded her, forcing her into a content smile. It disappeared quickly when she noticed Hiei's face.

He looked _horrified_.

Keiyma quickly pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry, I–"

He was gone. He ran so fast that Keiyma never even saw him move. He simply vanished into the air.

She fell back, hopelessly alone, punching the wickedly bothersome tree at her sides. Her eyes were watering.

She thought there was someone to love her, someone she was meant to be with… but she disgusts him.

"I'm such a fool," she sobbed.

"You sound so sad, my dear."

Keiyma froze. She knew that voice.

"Zakoto."

He stepped in front of her, casting her in his shadow.

"You don't look happy to see me, my dear. Were you hoping for someone else?" He moved her to the side. "Or perhaps, some_thing_ else?"

Zakoto smirked, sliding his hand across the trunk of the mahogany tree. The bark melted off, revealing a carved 'X'.

"I must say, that mark was difficult to cover up, even for an illusionist of my skill. But," He grinned. "I managed."

Keiyma touched the indentation on the tree, stroking the inward slope of her carving. The wood inside was smooth, contrasting with the jagged texture of rest of the tree. It was there; she could feel it.

It was _real_.

She slapped him.

"You're a bastard." Zakoto rubbed the side of his face.

A small grin spread slowly across his lips.

"Hmm. I think I prefer you when you're angry, my dear." Keiyma's eyes widened.

"Why did you come here?"

"To let you know my offer still stands."

"Offer?"

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten our last meeting."

"Fortunately."

Zakoto chuckled.

"My offer to join you, my offer of absolute power and control."

His arm suddenly draped around Keiyma's shoulder. He wouldn't let her shrug it off.

There was something about his touch, nothing good, but it seemed… _familiar_.

"Haven't you ever wanted control? To be able to change your life, to finally get everything you've always wanted?"

Everything?

"Come," He waved his free hand and the black portal of nothingness reappeared "let me show you."

Keiyma felt the feelings of fear and dread crawl up within her again.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm the only one who trusts you."

"That's not true, Kur–"

But, he doesn't. He didn't believe her.

Keiyma closed her mouth, her eyes downcast.

"Shall we, then?" he asked, directing towards the portal.

Every voice in Keiyma's mind, every feeling in her body told her to run, run as far as she could from the evil before her.

She ignored them and stepped inside.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma looked around quickly, but there was nothing around her but blackness. There was no light anywhere, yet she could see herself perfectly.

A sudden rush of colors surrounded her. She felt dizzy and fell to the floor, watching as the colors finally calmed and settled into an unfamiliar room.

The windows were draped in gold, and the furniture was a deep black, accented in deep purple. The tints seemed to paint a picture, a picture of darkness brightened.

There was a bed behind her covered with a purple satin comforter. It looked so comfortable and soft, she couldn't help but to sit on the bed and pull the comforter against her cheek. It was soft and cool against her skin.

She walked up to a black bureau, running her hands along the smooth wood. She looked into the mirror attached to the top, surprised at her reflection.

She looked older. Her hair was longer, falling down past the length of the mirror.

Keiyma brought a hand to her nose. It wasn't crooked or twisted. It didn't look like it had been broken over and over again. It brought no reminders of pain or unpleasantries. It was just a normal nose.

Looking down, Keiyma saw she was wearing a blue nightdress. She gasped when she saw that her stomach was bulging out. She was pregnant.

A picture frame was sitting on the bureau, facing away from her. Curiously, she turned it around so that see could see the photo it held.

It was a picture of her, a bit younger than she appeared in the mirror, being held in a man's arms. He was older than she remembered, but she recognized him clearly. Her heart missed a beat.

It was Hiei.

The creek of a door caused Keiyma to turn abruptly. She stared, open-mouthed as the older version of Hiei stood in front of her. He was smiling. Not smirking, but, actually, genuinely smiling. She had never seen him smile before. It lit up his entire face, giving him an almost godly beauty.

"I don't know how you do it, but every time I see you I fall even more in love," he said, his eyes sparkling. He picked up Keiyma's hands, which had been holding her stomach, and lightly kissed each one, soothing her.

"Happy anniversary, Keiyma."

"H–happy anniversary."

"I never thought life could be so perfect."

"Me neither," Keiyma managed to whisper through her tightened throat.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him for a kiss. But his lips never reached hers. Instead, he melted away.

Everything around her vanished and Keiyma was once again in a world of black.

"Enjoy yourself?"

She turned. Zakoto was standing behind her.

"What was that?"

"That could be your future, my dear. Joining me will bring you power, control, and anything your heart desires. Your life doesn't have to be hard, anymore."

He paused noticing her flushed face. He raised an eyebrow. "What exactly was it that you saw?"

"You couldn't see?"

"No." Relief washed over her.

"Happiness," she choked, hoping he would leave it at that.

"Indeed?" A sly grin materialized on his face for just a moment before he snapped it away. "Well, my dear, you know how you can achieve that happiness. What is your decision?"

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei ran into Kurama's room, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it, so as to prevent anyone else from entering.

Kurama was sitting on his floor mat, intently reading a book. He looked up at his unannounced guest. "What's wrong?"

"She was telling the truth," he said.

Kurama sighed, placing his book down on the bed.

"I felt she was, but if our search had continued just as fruitlessly, it would have hurt her even more."

"If I had just read her mind sooner…"

"You can't change the past, so why dwell on your mistakes?"

"Because, I feel like a fool."

"It's not your fault, Hiei. Etsu played you, probably with Zakoto's help."

"But Keiyma kept trying to tell us–"

"There was no proof."

"Hn."

"There's something else bothering you, isn't there?"

"After I read her mind, Keiyma touched me."

"She… touched you?"

"Kurama, I felt something."

"You mean–?"

"Yes. I felt the pull."

Both demons fell silent.


	8. Mind Games And Illusions

Chapter: Mind Games And Illusions

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Kurama and Hiei were still quiet, taken aback by the words spoken.

"Do you love her?" Kurama was first to break the silence.

"I haven't even spent much time with her… I mean, there were a few times, but, I tried to avoid being near her. Every time I was close to her, I felt like I wasn't in control of the situation. Not to mention I was distracted by Etsu."

"Are you sure that it was Ardention?"

"When she touched my lips, I was reading her mind. When the contact came, her entire soul was bared to me. It was so perfect… like nothing else in the world. I know I'm going to fall in love with her."

"But you didn't feel it before?"

"She'd only ever touched my shirt before. I felt something, but it wasn't nearly as strong as I had heard Ardention to be. I just passed it off as nothing. Today, though, that was… something."

"What did you say to her?"

"Nothing. I left her there."

"You didn't say _anything_? She felt it, too, Hiei. She's probably sitting there now, horribly confused."

"I know, _damn_ it. But, I was..."

"Scared?"

"Hn."

"It's all right, Hiei. Nothing like this has ever happened to you." He paused. "She knows about Ardention, you know."

"Yes, I saw your conversation in her mind."

"And you're all right with it?"

"She had been panicked. You handled it well. Besides, once you explained to her, her thoughts immediately turned to me. She'd only just heard about Ardention, but it seems as though she still knew more than I did."

"You need to find her, to speak with her."

"Hn. Perhaps I don't want her as a mate."

"Ardention doesn't make mistakes. I saw the way your eyes lit up when you talked about her soul. You've never looked that way before. You _do_ want her as a mate, and you _are _going to find her."

Hiei paused.

"You know me well, kitsune." Kurama smiled.

"Even better than you know yourself."

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"I-..."

Keiyma looked down at the darkness below her. The total blackness gave the impression that she was floating through space. Zakoto's gaze was tearing into her.

Will what she saw really come true? The prospect was something to consider.

If she says no, Zakoto may attack. If she says yes, she's a traitor.

Is that worth a life of love?

"I need to think about it, Zakoto."

"Of course, I understand," he said with an air of unnatural friendliness. He waved his arm and a portal of swirling color appeared. "If you come to a decision, just knock three times on the tree and my portal will appear. I'll be waiting my dear."

Keiyma looked at him curiously, but disregarded it. She was eager to leave and get back to the real world. She held her head up high and bounded through the swirling colors.

Landing with a small thud, Keiyma quickly covered her eyes from the sudden rush of light that burned them. It was actually very dark outside, but compared to the blackness of Zakoto's portal, it was intense. After a few seconds she was able to open them, her sight still slightly unfocused. Turning around, she saw there was no trace of the portal she had just been in, nor of Zakoto and his unknown dimension.

Keiyma began walking, quite dizzily, toward what was hopefully the direction of Genkai's home. She hadn't walked far when with a sudden 'SMACK!' she fell down to the ground. Looking up to see what she hit, she was startled with what she found.

"Hiei?"

"You lying, hypocritical _bitch_..." He was scowling fiercly, his voice full of rage. Keiyma quickly stood up.

"What are you talking about?"

"You go on screaming at Etsu for being a rat, when you're the one I find meeting with Zakoto. I saw the two of you go into that portal. What were you doing in there so long? Having a little tête - à – tête?"

"WHAT? No, no, no! You don't understand! Zakoto, he was trying to get me to join him, but I left because I could never have betrayed you like that. None of you, ever."

"Well, why not?"

"What do you mean, 'why not'?"

"We're finished dealing with you. We couldn't care one bit if you went off with him. In fact, we'd prefer it. I'd jump at any chance to not be sickened by the sight of you everyday. "

"You're... sickened by me?"

After seeing him react to her touch, she could tell how she sickened him. But for him to actually say it was… different.

"It took you this long to figure it out? I guess you're even more of an idiot than I though," Hiei said, laughing scornfully.

_They all hate me... I didn't think… _

"I'm sorry, I–I didn't mean to wreck your lives. I–"

"Well, you did." He silenced her. "Why don't you just get out of here?"

"If that's what you really want…"

"It is."

"Goodbye, Hiei." Keiyma whispered sadly, tears pooling in her eyes. She ran in the direction of the only place where she could be accepted.

She ran back to Zakoto's portal.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei stood, shocked at the sight in front of him. He saw Keiyma talking to... himself. He knew that wasn't right, that something evil was going on, but he couldn't budge. His whole body was magically petrified.

He watched as Keiyma ran away, crying. After a while, the imposter turned to him, grinning like a fool. Finally, Hiei felt himself able to move.

In less than a second, Hiei was next to the copy, who was currently nursing the new wound on his head that Hiei had been so happy to give him.

"Show yourself, imposter."

"Is that all? Well, you only needed to ask. No reason to get violent." He donned a mimicking smirk.

With a wave of his hand, Hiei's face and body melted away, and a new one of each began to form.

The face of Zakoto leered condescendingly at Hiei.

"You son of a _bitch_! What did you do to her?"

"I just needed to ensure that Keiyma would be joining me. Apparently, she finds you very persuasive."

"Bad idea," Hiei growled, making an attempt to attack Zakoto. An almost invisible barrier appeared around Hiei, blocking the hit. "Hn. I could break through this easily."

"Maybe so, but I can't tell you anything if I'm dead, so I'd advise you to listen."

Hiei calmed down. Zakoto continued.

"I'm an illusionist, as you no doubt know, having seen me in action." He paused to smirk at Hiei's sudden growl.

"Get on with it."

"Impatient, aren't we? Well, the most successful illusionists can copy images from the mind and heart, which of course I am able to do. I managed to persuade Keiyma enough to let me show her what her 'future' would be should she join me. Though I was unable to see the illusion, I have an idea of what it was, considering the person whose shape I took when I copied the image of the person she wanted to see the most. Luckily, she was kind enough to say your name, so that I didn't have to have a conversation without knowing who I was..."

"_Damn_ it, what did you say to her?"

"I just told her how you all 'really' feel. It was just enough to give her the nice, unwelcome feeling, that sent her back home to me."

"What are you going to do to her?"

"Now, now, I can't tell you everything. Where's the fun in that?"

"I swear. if you hurt her-"

"Ohh, I see. You're a protective one, too. Tell me, do you act this way for everyone, or just her?"

"Shut up." Zakoto laughed.

"No need to respond, I've already found my answer."

"Listen, you-"

"I would, really I would, but I have a meeting to get to. Can't keep dear Keiyma waiting, now can I?" Zakoto laughed, using his powers of illusion to make himself vanish.

Hiei growled before dashing off in the direction Keiyma had run, hoping he wasn't too late.

After only a few of seconds, he saw her, standing in front of a swirling black vortex. She was stepping into it, almost completely through.

"KEIYMA! Don't go! The bastard's LYING to you!" he yelled to her. She made no response and continued to step into the portal until she was gone.

Hiei began to run, attempting to jump into the portal and follow her, but less than a second before he got there, it dissolved.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"Zakoto?" Keiyma called out into the darkness.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," he said, stepping out from behind her. "I was a bit preoccupied."

Keiyma wasn't listening, she was wondering about the noise she had heard while entering Zakoto's dimension. She could barely understand it, but it sounded almost human, as if someone was yelling out to her, telling her not to go. It sounded almost familiar, but was so distorted that she couldn't place it.

"What brings you here? Surely, I'm not so lucky that you've come to a decision already?"

"Yes, I have. I-I'm going to join you."

Zakoto grinned wide.

"You won't regret it, my dear. It's always better to be on the winning side" He chuckled.

Keiyma nodded.

"So, what exactly was it that convinced you?"

"What? Oh..." Keiyma blushed slightly. "I just wanted to be on the winning side, like you said."

"Of course." Zakoto said calmly, laughing hysterically in his mind. "Would you like to rest before we progress any further?"

"Yes, I really would. It's been a _long_ day. Uhm... where-?"

Zakoto waved his hand and a wooden door appeared.

"I'm sure you will find it suits your needs."

Keiyma opened the door and gasped.

"Is the room to your liking?"

"Uh, yes, it's, uh, fine, thank you. Goodnight," she mumbled awkwardly, a furious blush on her face.

"Sleep well, my dear." She heard Zakoto call as she quickly shut the door behind her.

The room was almost identical to what she had seen in her glimpse of the future. The picture of her and Hiei was missing, but the furniture was the same. She quickly looked in the mirror, relieved to find she wasn't staring at the older version of herself. She glanced over at the wooden door and realized that it was the same door Hiei had entered through in her vision. Her cheeks smoldered, remembering what had happened the last time she'd been in the room.

That couldn't be her future, though. Hiei hates her. She sickens him.

But…

Maybe he'll realize she never betrayed him. Maybe that was all he was upset about. Maybe they can still be together. Maybe…

Keiyma was too tired to think any further, and instead lied down on the bed, closing her eyes to welcome sleep.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma woke up many hours later, sitting up and stretching her arms out with a little yawn. She had a very peculiar dream and was trying to understand exactly what it was supposed to mean, if anything.

She had dreamt that she was being pulled away into one of Zakoto's black portals. It was sucking her in, but she was straining against it. She saw Hiei, who was waving at her, sneering. He kept laughing and telling her to accept her destiny. Then Hiei melted and disappeared. Suddenly he appeared again, this time he was next to her, trying to pull her away from the portal. He was crying and yelling at her not to go. She tried to tell him that she didn't want to leave him, but the portal kept sucking her in more and more. Then she slipped out of Hiei's grip and was pulled completely in.

That was when she woke up.


	9. I Could Never Hurt You

Chapter: I Could Never Hurt You

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma, deciding to stop dwelling on her peculiar dream and turned to get out of bed. She had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming in surprise when she found herself eye level to a grinning Itachi.

"Ahh. It's so very good to see you've awakened at last, miss. Were you comfortable?"

"Uhm, yes, it was fine, thanks."

She gawkily wondered just how long had he been standing there.

"His lordship requests your presence outside," He handed a gray box to Keiyma. "He provided some clean clothing for you to change into, miss."

"Oh. Thanks," she said, taking the box from him.

Keiyma watched uneasily as Itachi bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. She opened the box and pulled out a black dress and, embarrassingly enough, matching black undergarments.

She changed quickly and brought herself to the bureau, grabbing a hairbrush in an open drawer. She looked into the mirror as she brushed her hair, biting her lip at the sight.

The dress was pretty enough, but it didn't cover the marks on her arms, neck, and lower legs. She was thankful that it revealed none of the dreadful scarring on her thighs, but still wished that there had been something else. Remembering that she had no one to impress, she shrugged off her discomfort.

Keiyma turned to leave the room when, to her horror, she saw the wooden door slamming shut.

Someone had been _watching_ her.

Hoping to catch the perpetrator, Keiyma jumped at the door, quickly pulling it open. But, the door didn't lead to the black room from earlier. Instead, it was covering Zakoto's swirling color portal, which she remembered led to the outside world.

With more ease than she had the previous times, she stepped through it.

With the soft landing of her bare feet, Keiyma landed in a dark hallway of a wooden cottage. She glanced through the windows around her, all of which were tinted, only to find no other signs of civilization nearby.

She turned when she heard a low voice humming a sweet song. Walking toward a doorway, she saw Zakoto sitting at a long table, reading a paper, while Itachi stood beside him. Cherry-wood cabinets lined the walls along with a sink and refrigerator, framing a screen door let led to the outdoors. It looked like a standard house kitchen, making Keiyma snort at the ridiculousness of Zakoto looking like an average man.

Listening intently, she was shocked to find the beautiful melody was coming from Zakoto. She was even more shocked at the wave of déjà vu that fell over her from the sight and sound in front her.

The humming stopped abruptly as Zakoto spoke, his eyes drifting from the paper to Keiyma's face.

"I trust you slept well, my dear?" He smiled pleasantly at her.

Keiyma nodded, suspicion rising at his gentleness.

He gestured for her to sit. She took the seat across from him, regretting it when she realized she was in his direct view. Zakoto's eyes ran over her scarred arms and she looked down, uncomfortable.

Zakoto cleared his throat. She looked back up.

"I wanted to speak with you concerning the spirit detectives."

'_We're finished dealing with you.'_

Her eyes drooped.

"What about them?"

"As you well know, they have the idea that they need to suppress my quest for power. They seem to think I'm evil."

He paused, waiting for a possible reaction. Keiyma made a small noise, whether it was a laugh or a scoff he wasn't sure. She said nothing further, so he continued.

"Their efforts are purely foolhardy. In their attempts to 'save the world', they only create unnecessary pain. Foolishly, they place their lives in jeopardy, simply because they can't accept change. They don't realize that I can better this world by bringing it supreme power." He stopped again.

Keiyma bit her lip. She had felt that Zakoto's rule was completely out of the question, and something that must be stopped. Yet, now that she heard his point of view, she couldn't help but to change her opinion somewhat. The pros and cons seemed to pile up in her brain, overwhelming and clouding her judgment.

"Regardless, a time may come when we will have to wage war against them. What I need to know is, are you able to fight against the spirit detectives? Will you be able to do your _utmost_ in battle for the good of our cause?"

Dumbfounded, Keiyma felt as though a huge weight had fallen on her shoulders.

Images of her old friends on the ground, bruised and bleeding crossed her eyes. She had to choke back a sob when she pictured them dead, their blood dripping from her hands.

Even if they hated her, the spirit detectives had still been kinder than anyone else had ever been. Leaving them is one thing, but could she ever bring herself to cause them pain? Possibly even kill them?

"No." Her distressing eyes returned to Zakoto's calculating gaze as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I could never hurt them."

Noticing the miniature teardrop clinging to Keiyma's sad eyes, Zakoto realized that there was no changing her mind. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, we'll just have to plan carefully so we can avoid that, my dear." He smiled reassuringly. "Why don't you go outside and train with your spirit weapon? After seeing the mark it made, I'm anxious to view it in action. You'll need practice before you can showcase your skills." He motioned toward the screen door behind him.

Keiyma wondered at his unusually easy reaction, but was grateful for the chance to go outside and relax her mind from the gory thoughts.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"You've got to be kidding me. You're all just going to stand here and leave her in the bastard's clutches?" Hiei growled.

"Hey, it's not like we could find her anyway. I doubt that after his last mistake he would use an old hideout. He could be anywhere," Yusuke said, trying to reason with the young fire demon.

"Besides, it's late at night and we're all tired," Kuwabara complained.

"So, you're not even willing to try?"

"Since when do you care so much about her, anyway?" Yusuke questioned. "You got a thing for her or somethin'?"

"Hn. Your job is to help the innocents, not busy yourself with mindless gossip, you brain-dead ningen."

"Hiei..." Kurama began softly. "I don't think it's wise to follow her. I believe the best thing is to wait for her. Do you really think she will turn against us?"

"I wouldn't put it past Zakoto."

"She's stronger than that, my friend."

"Even you are betraying me, Kurama?"

"No. I'm not betraying you, but I'm not going to help. I have a strong feeling that you should not go to her."

"I can't just leave her. I won't sit by as a coward would, while she may be in danger. Since none of you will help me, I'll go alone." Hiei said, and ran out the door before anyone could protest.

Hiei continued to run, racing across the land. He didn't know what exactly he was waiting for, or how exactly he could find it. He thought of some kind of signal she could possibly be giving off. A sound, smell, or feeling she could give off that would show him where she was.

He had been searching all night, and, as the sun rose, he was not even close to giving up.

A sudden feeling came over him.

He should try sensing her power.

It was masked by a spell from the old Jaganshi, but, if she did something that required a lot of energy, he would be able to feel it. So far, it had been no luck.

But the feeling insisted.

Hiei stopped running and jumped up atop a tree, clearing his mind. He focused his energy on reading the power levels near him. He could reach a wide area with his whole energy converged, but was still hesitant of whether he was close enough to be able to sense her.

For a full minute he felt the radiation of many different power levels, none high enough to be Keiyma's. He was about to leave and try another area, when an abrupt burst of power surfaced.

He jumped into a run in its direction.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Breathing in the cool, refreshing air, a sudden tingle slid across Keiyma's spine. She felt as though someone was watching her, coming toward her. Instead of a feeling of dread washing over her, she was surprised to find that she had instead felt calmer than she had before.

Warmth had suddenly surrounded Keiyma. She blinked, confused, until an incredible feeling washed over her, making her realize that she was being held in a tight embrace of a certain spiky-haired assailant.

"...Hiei" His name poured from her lips like hot chocolate, warming and calming her instantly.

She reabsorbed her spirit daggers and wrapped her arm around him, shyly stroking his back. She wanted to feel that he was really there.

They stood there in each other's arms, neither one wanting to let go of the other. Keiyma closed her eyes and rested against Hiei.

If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.

"I thought I had lost you." Hiei's voice was sad and mixed with anger.

"All those things you said... why-?" Keiyma asked, recalling the painful memory.

"That wasn't me. Zakoto disguised himself to trick you into going with him. Whatever he said to you isn't true."

"What?"

Hiei let go of her and stared straight into her eyes so she could tell he was being sincere.

"I would never do anything to hurt you, Keiyma."

Keiyma looked deeply at him, searching his face for deceit. There was none. No anger, mystery, nor sadistic humor upon his face. This was truly Hiei before her, and he was presenting his heart to her.

"I wanted so badly for it not to be you, for nothing you said to be real. It hurt so much to have you gone from my life." She smiled, suddenly growing hopeful. "And when you ran from me in the forest, that was just an illusion, too?"

"No… that was real."

Keiyma suddenly pulled back, afraid to touch him, not remembering that he was the one who ran up to hug her.

He grabbed her shoulders.

"It wasn't because of you. I was… afraid. I wasn't expecting to suddenly find my mate."

He _had _felt it.

"I didn't think that I was ready. I shouldn't have run from you, I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I don't apologize often, and, on the rare chance that I do, I always mean it."

"That's not what I meant." She looked deeper into his crimson eyes. "Are you ready?" He looked at her skeptically. "To have a… a mate?"

"Yeah. I mean, we can get to know each other better, first. But, yeah, I'm ready."

Keiyma hugged him tightly.

"I always wanted someone to love me… I mean, to really love me. Not just to say it. I–" She bit her lip. "You do really care about me, don't you? It's not just because of the… the Ardention, is it?"

"Keiyma, when you touched me yesterday, I was still inside of your mind. The connection caused your very essence, your soul, to appear to me. I knew then that I was going to fall in love with you, because of who you are, not what you make me feel."

She smiled.

"You've never acted like this before. You're being so nice."

"I've never been in a situation quite like this before.

"Me neither," she whispered. "I shouldn't have joined with Zakoto, I'm sorry. I just–I _thought_ that everyone hated me. It hurt so bad and I just– God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just want to leave. I want to go back, away from here, from all of Zakoto's lies." She was in tears.

"Don't cry." Hiei held her peacefully. "I'm here now. We can leave, together."

Keiyma smiled and stood in awe. She was so overwhelmed in sensation that it all felt unreal. She never wanted this feeling to end.

But it did.

It all disappeared, when a sudden, powerful explosion filled her ears and forced her backward.

Coughing up the smog-filled air, she looked up to see if Hiei was all right. She screamed when she saw him lying on the ground, completely still.

She tried to run up to him, to see if he was all right, but was blocked by an invisible barrier. Unwilling to give up, she pounded her fists upon it, screaming louder and louder, hoping it would somehow give in to her and open itself.

She couldn't tell if he was breathing. Panic set in. She began begging. Begging that he was okay, that he was alive.

"Please… I'll do anything"

A feeling of horror crawled up within Keiyma as a deep booming laughter surrounded her.


	10. Just Out Of Reach

Chapter: Just Out Of Reach

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma's eyes flashed from Hiei's unmoving body to follow the mind-numbingly cruel laughter beside him. The maliciously pleased grin upon the face of Zakoto blocked her line of sight locked upon.

"What did you do to him?" She was screaming, clenching into a wraithlike shade of white.

"Now, now, don't worry. He isn't dead... _yet_." Zakoto sneered.

"Let him go, or else I swear that I will kill you," she said through gritted teeth.

"I think it's you who should be worried about the else case, my dear. You see, I'm the only one who can break that barrier around your little boyfriend. There's no way in or out; he's trapped. So, unless have some kinky desire to watch him die, you'd be wisest to listen to me."

Her mouth went dry.

"What do you want?"

"I've tried to have you join me, so that we could work together and build your power, but you denied me. I know I could have controlled you before, but you've changed, partly because of the likes of this scum." He nodded menacingly at Hiei.

Keiyma growled at his comments, but stood her ground, waiting for him to continue.

"I simply had to get control of your power by another means. I used your heart against you, the very thing that was preventing me from gaining control in the first place. Rather cunning, wouldn't you say?" He paused, waiting for a response, but continued when he found none. "All you need to do is relinquish your power to me, and I'll free him."

"How do you expect me to do that?"

"It's not complicated in the slightest. You just need to concentrate your powers into me, exactly how you transfer it into a spirit weapon."

"How do I know you won't just kill me after?"

"That would waste my efforts. For you see, should you die, your power will die with you."

"If… If I do it, then you'll set him free?"

"On my word."

Keiyma glanced back at Hiei's body. She could now tell he was breathing, but they were ragged breaths and the rise and fall of his chest was slight. His mouth hung open, making him look weak and helpless.

Every second that went by drained the life out of him even more.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Perfect."

Zakoto walked over to Keiyma, Itachi's disturbing self slithering behind him.

Keiyma looked up at Zakoto's face. It was brimming with both greed and anticipation, while her own was tinged with fear.

She flinched as Zakoto picked up her hand and regained eye contact with her.

"Ready when you are, my dear." A small smirk crept across his lips.

Keiyma focused her energy into Zakoto's hand. Colossal rushes of burning heat passed through her. She was like a glass of water, her energy being poured out until she was completely empty.

Her knees were wobbling and incredible fatigue washed over her. Every breath she took and eye she blinked was draining her of even more of her energy.

She felt a _'crack!_' in her chest as the last of her power left her and she fell onto the ground.

"I…can't…move…"

"Oh, did I perhaps forget to mention...? How silly of me. After the power transfer, your body falls into a life-long state of barely existing. Also, you can't quite leave any time soon, for the closer you are to me, the stronger I am. Not to worry, I assure you that you'll be in good hands." Zakoto turned to his assistant. "Itachi."

"Y-yes master?" Itachi squealed eagerly.

"I place the girl in your care." He waved his hand, creating a black portal. "Make sure to keep her from the spirit detectives, or it will be on your head."

"Of course... thank you sire..." Itachi said, snatching Keiyma into his arms and pulling her through the portal.

She didn't want this. She wanted to be with Hiei. But, Keiyma was too strained to speak, to scream, to object to what was happening to her in any way.

"I'll take good care of you," cooed Itachi, placing Keiyma on a couch in a room she didn't recognize. "We can be together forever."

He delicately stroked her hair, slowly moving his icy cold fingers through her brown locks. He was moving closer and closer, but Keiyma couldn't move away.

Itachi pulled her against him, crushing her with a deep kiss. His roughly chapped lips scratched her, the passion of the kiss causing her to bruise.

She was terrified. She was revolted. Her stomach lurched painfully in a failed attempt to throw up.

When Itachi finally broke the kiss, Keiyma quickly administered the only defensive maneuver she felt she could manage. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

It wasn't difficult. Her body was tired and weak.

In a matter of seconds she escaped from reality into unconsciousness.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei lifted his head up, groaning in pain as his whole body ached against the hard earth. Though his eyesight was blurry, he managed to see Itachi carrying an unconscious Keiyma through a black portal. He tried to call out to her, but all that came out was a hacking cough.

"You're too late," came a hiss from behind him.

Ignoring the shooting pains throughout his body, Hiei immediately stood up and raced toward Zakoto with his godlike speed. He obliviously ran through the barrier that had surrounded him, breaking through it without the slightest pause in step.

He was about to hit Zakoto, to knock him down, but was stopped in his place.

Looking down to see what had caused his halt, Hiei discovered that a mere outstretched finger had been the offender. He felt the opposite hand of Zakoto snatch him around the scruff of his neck and lift him several inches off of the ground.

"Tell me, do you like my little addition? Apparently, Keiyma had the idea you were in some sort of danger. I haven't the slightest idea what could have brought on such thoughts, but I felt it rude not to accept her generous gift."

"You deceitful, repugnant bastard! What in the hell have you done with Keiyma? Let her go!"

Zakoto raised an eyebrow and lifted Hiei several inches more off the ground.

"Now, now, I can't have you taking my source of power out of my reach, can I?"

"I'll find her again."

"No, I should think not. Luckily, she won't have any little power surges for you to sense. She's just out of your reach and it's killing you, isn't it?"

"Hn. Mark my words Zakoto, I will find her. I will find her and you will die."

"I look forward to the challenge. In fact," Zakoto smirked and released his grip on Hiei, causing him to land back on the ground. "Why don't you bring along the other detectives? What's the use of all this power if I can't torture all of my enemies?"

Hiei stood straight, lifting his chin and dusting the dirt off of his shirt.

"Really, now. Is that necessary? There's no one you need to impress. Not anymore, at least…"

"Watch your back," Hiei growled, glaring with pure loathing at the man before vanishing from sight.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei arrived hastily at Genkai's temple, hoping that the others were still there. He hated to admit it, but he knew he might need their help in some way.

But, he would make certain that none of them had the _pleasure _of ending Zakoto's futile life.

However hard he tried, Hiei's efforts to sense a signal of power from Keiyma had been quashed. He could sense Zakoto well enough, but he assumed that the man wasn't idiotic enough to stand in the same location as her.

Breaking down the door and running inside, he almost knocked down Kurama. The Kitsune stood unfazed, and steadily regained his balance.

"Hiei? What is it?" Kurama asked, taking a small step backward to give Hiei space.

"I found Keiyma, she wanted to leave, and come back to us... That son of a bitch Zakoto! I'll kill him…"

"What? What's happened?"

"I found her... but then I was knocked down from an explosion," Hiei began, purposely leaving out the romance in their meeting, both to save time and out of his own uncommon timidity. "When I got up, his pathetic excuse for an associate was carrying her through one of his portals. She looked almost dead. He took her away, and he took her power, DAMN IT!"

"He couldn't have. She'd have to give it up willingly," called Yusuke's voice from the corner of the room.

In his haste, Hiei hadn't even noticed him standing in the room. He now looked around and noticed that Kuwabara was also there, leaning against a doorway. Both seemed to have very serious looks upon them, despite their usually jocular nature.

"She did. He... he tricked her. She thought I was dying and gave her power in hopes that Zakoto wouldn't kill me." Hiei scoffed. "As if that imbecile could kill me."

"Well, that's good, right? He won't hurt her now," offered Kuwabara.

"Baka!" Hiei growled. "We can't sense her now. He'll keep her there forever, in a state almost as low as vegetation, as a source of power to feed of off."

"Not to mention the fact that now Zakoto's grown considerably stronger," muttered Yusuke.

"There's no question that we have to stop him, but how?" asked Kurama.

"I don't know but I'm sure as hell not going to give up." Hiei said, slamming his fist against the wall.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find a way. None of us will give up. We'll get him for this, Hiei." Kurama said softly in an attempt to comfort his friend.

"I know," Hiei said, speaking in his regular, cold, superior tone. "I can't lose her," he added, in a low whisper unintelligible by the others around him.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma awoke, unsure of the time that had passed. Somehow gathering the bravery to open her eyes, she looked up at her surroundings.

It was fairly dark inside the room. All the lights had been shut off, but the light of day still shone somewhat through the closed drapes of the windows.

She felt something warm pressed against her body, and had been avoiding looking at it for fear that Itachi had curled up next to her. Finally, sheer curiosity got the better of her and she looked down. Keiyma let out a sigh of relief to find that it was simply a blanket bundled up against her body. It was a nice gesture, and she would have thought it sweet had it not come from her captor.

Wondering where the man was, she quickly glanced around the room and discovered him lying on a bed next to the couch she had been asleep on. His head was rested, asleep, on the edge of the bed facing her. Keiyma had a spine-tingling, creepy feeling that he had been watching her.

Her mind then drifted back into the dreams she had while she was sleeping. Lately, she'd been having premonitions of some sort, but this time she had the same dream that she'd had countless times before. It was of images from her past flashing by. The last time she'd had the dream was on her first night that Kurama took her in.

For some reason, her mind was concentrating on the dream, not letting her lose focus on it.

There was something she was missing… something she needed to see… but, what?

Suddenly, it came to her. She zoomed in on a particular memory. Something she'd seen recently, over and over again. Something she had tried to forget. Something that she'd never suspected.

Keiyma gasped, now in complete and total shock of what she had just uncovered.


	11. Fragile Psyche

Chapter: Fragile Psyche

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma's head was now swirling with memories and phenomenon. She had the unquenched desire to scream out, but she was weak and the possibility of waking up Itachi sent an icy cold fear through her spine.

Keiyma couldn't help pondering why she hadn't seen it before. He looked different, the scars on his face weren't there before and he wore normal human clothing. But still, _how_ didn't she notice? She felt like an idiot.

He must have forgotten her. Not that she wanted him to remember. She didn't even want to remember. That was why she didn't notice at first. She hadtried to forget. She almost succeeded, but now she remembered. Now she knew.

Zakoto was her father.

Not her real father. She strained to remember Botan's story. Zakoto had killed Myrani's parents.

No, Zakoto had killed _her_ parents.

'_The Jaganshi knew of this attack ahead of time and hid the child with a fake mother and father.' _

Fake parents, it was a smart idea. The Jaganshi altered Zakoto's memory, thereby halting the most prominent threat to her life. He would never think to look right in front of him.

But the plan was flawed.

At first, it wasn't as bad. Zakoto had only beaten and raped her. But, as she grew older, he began to toy with her mind, giving her no escape from the torture. He had changed her.

_She was on the ground with him on top of her. His hands were on her back, his nails clawing away at her flesh, making her burn and bleed._

'_Please… please, stop!'_

'_No.' He dug more deeply. She screamed._

'_Why? Why are you doing this?'_

'_Because you want me to.' He licked her earlobe while viciously clawing the back of her neck, rubbing the blood over her chest. 'Because you need me to.'_

The Jaganshi's spell wasn't strong enough to keep its hold on Zakoto. When she was thirteen, Zakoto started to remember who he was. He left her and her mother alone.

Thank _god_ he remembered.

Keiyma's eyes grew red and swelled tears. She was shaking violently. She remembered not only him, but also the feeling she got whenever he was near, or even in the same room as her. She remembered her fear. Here it was again, coursing inside her body, forcing her to remember the pain.

But why? Why was she so afraid? He didn't know she was his daughter. At least, he didn't seem to. Even still, he won't hurt her anymore. He wouldn't dare put his power in jeopardy.

That's not true. He _is_ hurting her. Not with physical abuse, but he's taken her away from her only chance at love. She'll never see Hiei again. He's still torturing her, just as he had all those years ago. He's killing her from the inside, out.

What if Hiei found her again? What if he saved her?

She couldn't tell him, it was certain. He'd never look at her the same way again. Maybe he wouldn't read it in her mind. Maybe she could block it out. Anything to stop him from seeing _that_.

She felt dirty and guilty, as though every inhumane act Zakoto's ever committed was her fault. She knew it couldn't possibly be true, but that didn't stop the horrible feeling she had from slowly gnawing away at her sanity.

No, she wouldn't tell him, but she'd give anything to see him.

Even just once more to see arrogant smirk would be worth it. She longed to be in his arms once more, wrapped tight in his grip and held against his chest where she could feel the rhythmic beating of his heart. She had never before felt as safe or as supremely happy as when he held her.

Keiyma continued to think dreamily about Hiei, ignoring her surroundings. She was glowing with an aching feeling for him and it surged from the depths of her soul. A sudden, comforting warmth seemed to fill her senses, centering at her heart and traveling outward in a wave over her body. She felt peaceful... as though her troubles were instantly washed away.

A rhythmic beating came from within her, and it seemed so loud. It wasn't loud though, since she couldn't hear it, but she felt it.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei raced around. He knew it was useless, but he felt helpless to just sit by. He was angry with Zakoto for hurting Keiyma and at himself for allowing it to happen. He wasn't just angry, though.

He was masking his feelings with rage and violence, but inside he was scared. He'd never been hurt this deeply before. In his life, many things had been taken away from him, but he had not had much time to appreciate them before they were gone. He barely even remembered his family before he was cast away.

It had made him feel sad and alone, but he'd never felt quite as emotional as he did at this moment. He'd finally had someone, and he'd been able to love her and to feel the need to be with her. And he, in turn, felt needed, appreciated. His heart had finally been able to hold on to someone, and she was taken away from him.

No, a tear didn't streak from his vehement eyes. He was too tough for that. But, deep inside where he locked up his fear, love, and sorrow, he was bawling. Utter misery, which he expressed in the only way he knew how, as bloodlust. He wanted slow, excruciating, agonizing, revenge.

He'd get Keiyma back and watch Zakoto suffer or he'd die trying.

In the midst of thinking of ways to harm Zakoto, Hiei felt a sudden throb. At first he'd instinctively thought the pulse was from his Jagan eye, picking up on a strange energy. But, as it throbbed again, he smartened. He wasn't sure what he was sensing at the moment, but the low, shallow beat he had felt was from within his heart.

The beat continued in his heart, eventually throbbing in tune with his own pulse. His mind blocked out all surrounding sounds, concentrating on the beat.

Hiei didn't even realize that he was still moving. The beating in his chest was calling him, commanding him to go somewhere.

He didn't fight it. The comfort he felt made his movements seem so natural, and so serene, that he just ran to the will of his heart.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

How long had he been running? Hiei wasn't sure. He was oblivious to the steps he took and the now dark sky above him. He continued to run in an almost comatose state, the pounding in his heart getting increasingly intense.

Suddenly, it stopped. His mind snapped back into reality and he looked around quickly.

He was in a room he didn't recognize, with a sleeping man whom he did. It was Itachi. A strong desire to hurt the man crept inside Hiei, and he would have gladly complied with this yearning, had it not been for a small whimper from behind him.

"Hiei..."

It was Keiyma. She looked so frail, yet there was an unmistakable brightness to her eyes when he turned to her. Hiei wanted to hold her in his arms and just stand for hours, to feel her and to kiss her.

But he wasn't about to make that mistake again. He knew they had to get out of there, fast. Although there was no doubt in his mind that he could defeat Zakoto's manservant, he didn't want to take the chance that Itachi would trigger some sort of trap before his death.

Hiei picked up Keiyma and she instantly rested her head against him. He closed his eyes for just a moment, to treasure the feeling. Then, he ran as fast as he possibly could away from the lair.

Inspired by his want to protect Keiyma, this was immeasurably swift.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Even Hiei was shocked at his arrival time. It had taken him merely seconds to run the unfamiliar route. But he couldn't dwell on that. He needed to help Keiyma. He set her town on a couch in a room where Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Genkai were sitting, surprising them with his sudden entrance.

"Hiei!" Kurama yelled, standing up. "Keiyma... where was she? How did you find her?"

"I don't know. She called me to her," he replied, never taking his eyes off the still girl.

"She looks almost dead," Kuwabara remarked.

"Not helping," Yusuke muttered toward him. "Is there any way we can help her?" he asked, mainly directing his question to Genkai.

"Keiyma's been almost completely absorbed. The only way she can possibly function again is to get a power source back. She's far from Zakoto now, and both of them have weakened power. She's draining what's left of her life energy just to exist," Genkai said, even her usual cranky voice seemed slightly saddened.

"So, we'd have to get her power back from Zakoto in order for her to live." Kurama said. "We'd have to extract it from him unwillingly. An extremely difficult task, one that will take time that we don't have."

"What if," Hiei croaked, still staring into Keiyma's eyes, "she was given a partial power source? Would she be able to survive then?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Genkai said. "She wouldn't be as powerful as she once was, but she'd most certainly be able to function normally. But, in order to do that we'd still have to give her power from someone."

"Hiei... You're not going to–?" Kurama asked.

"I have to. If it will save her, it's more than worth it." Hiei looked up at Genkai. "All right, what do I do?"

"Just concentrate on your power as it circulates within you. Let it pass into your hands and then into Keiyma's. Be careful not to give too much. You're no help comatose."

Hiei gently grabbed Keiyma's hands and did as Genkai said, concentrating about half of his power into the girl. He felt a sudden rush and weakness as the energy left him.

Keiyma's eyes roll back and then closed. He let go of her as he softly fell on to the ground.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

"Yuck! So, she's grown another eye?" Keiyma heard Kuwabara shout.

"God, you're stupid. Pipe down, you'll wake them both up," Genkai scolded.

"It doesn't seem to be a Jagan eye, just a curved line across her forehead," Kurama said. "I wonder… Genkai, why would such a mark form upon her?"

"Power transfer is dangerous and not very commonly used, so little is known about the after effects. However, there have been cases where the recipient takes on a small characteristic of the donor. It's my belief that this is a sign of acceptance, that the exchange was supposed to occur."

"Well, that's good, then," said Kuwabara.

Keiyma opened her eyes and was somewhat taken aback by the four people standing above her.

"Hey! How ya feelin'?" Yusuke shouted excitedly.

"Fine," she said instinctively, but it was actually true. She no longer felt weary and tired like she had earlier. "Where's Hiei?" She sat up, relieved to be able to move again.

Kurama signaled towards a large black mat on the other side of the room where Keiyma could see Hiei's sleeping body. "He passed out after the power transfer."

"He's okay, isn't he?" Keiyma asked, worried.

"He should be fine."

"And I'm sure he'll be even better once he sees you!" Yusuke said in an ever-so-slightly perverted tone. Keiyma was too preoccupied to notice.

She walked up to Hiei and knelt down next to the mat. He looked so incredibly peaceful and beautiful that she felt as if she was only dreaming once more. She touched his cheek and felt the smooth skin against her hand, the Ardention reassuring her that she was awake.

"Hiei..." she whispered, watching as his eyes slowly opened.

"Keiyma." A rare smile appeared on his face.

Keiyma beamed and grabbed him in a tight embrace. After a minute, she reluctantly let go, in fear that he couldn't breathe.

"I guess that means you're all right then," Hiei said, laughing at her. He reached up to touch her forehead. "What's this?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen it. It's some kind of mark from the power exchange."

Keiyma got up and walked over to a mirror she had spotted out of the corner of her eye, Hiei walking behind her. It looked just as the others had spoken of, a black curved line like a closed Jagan eye.

"I'm sorry. Maybe it's not permanent," Hiei said, feeling guilty.

"Don't be. I like it. It reminds me of you." She blushed.

"This is so romantic!" Kuwabara shouted, sobbing.

"You know, you're really good at ruining the moment..." Yusuke said.

"It's not my fault if I was raised to be caring and sensitive."

What Yusuke quirked in response to that, Keiyma didn't hear. She was too busy watching Hiei's eyes roam over the scars across her arms and neck.

"Did Zakoto do that to you?"

"…N-no," she choked.

"You're lying."

"He didn't. Not… not _him_, really_."_

"What are you talking about?"

She looked down at the floor.

"Please, tell me."

"I don't want you to know. I don't want to… to say it… please… don't make me say it…"

He looked into her mind. She could feel him reading her thoughts. She could see him reading _those_ thoughts.

His voice was only a whisper. "…your father."

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Keiyma eventually explained the whole circumstance to Hiei and anyone else with them in the room. They were very sympathetic, but even their kind words couldn't rid Keiyma of her shame.

Everybody was inside, trying to fall sleep after the complicated night, except for Hiei. He didn't bother. He knew he couldn't. There was too much anger boiling inside him. He hadn't slept for the last two nights, but it didn't matter. He'd had enough rest after the power transfer.

Hiei was now sitting on a sturdy tree limb under the sky. He was plagued by images he had seen in Keiyma's mind, images from her past with Zakoto. There was so much pain, so much abuse, so much _suffering_.

"I'll make sure he feels all the pain he's inflicted on Keiyma."

"Is that a promise?" Zakoto's voice slithered distortedly from the sky.

Hiei gracefully jumped to his feet, keeping his balance on the branch. He saw Zakoto floating above him opaquely. He was just an illusion.

"Show yourself, you coward!"

"Oh, do you miss me? I'm sorry, I didn't realize you liked me that way..."

"You're filth," Hiei roared, spitting at the faux-Zakoto.

"Yes, yes, I know. Now, then, I must say, I don't appreciate you stealing my power source. It was incredibly rude. Not that I won't get her back again, but it's the principal of the thing."

"You'll never get her back. I'm not going to let you hurt ever again."

"_Again_?" The illusion bared its teeth happily. "Does little Keiyma finally remember me?"

"You knew it was her?"

"Oh, yes. It was questionable, as she seemed to have no idea who I was. She obviously tried to suppress the memories of me. Such a shame…" He looked up blissfully. "The memories are so… satisfying."

"Satisfying? You call torturing a little girl, your _daughter_, satisfying?"

"Very. She was useful, a wonderful way to work out the stress I'd had those years. She always fought back. It was a waste of time, but… entertaining. I stayed awhile after I got my memory back, just to be with her. I wanted to make sure she was completely broken before I left. When I see her now, it's… pleasing. Her fragile psyche so scarred and easy to manipulate... no doubt remembering me has freshened old wounds. She's terrified of me. I can do anything I want with her. Not that I didn't before…"

"You _bastard_–"

"Really, you shouldn't be so upset. I left her desperately looking for someone to cling on to, to love her. That's how you managed to get her, isn't it?"

"Shut _up_. I'm going to kill you one way or another, so you might as well show yourself."

"Oh, I highly doubt that. Nevertheless, you'll have to wait a bit longer before you get to see me again. I really must be going... things to do, people to see. Keep an eye on my little Keiyma for me. I don't want her dead before I get her back. Sweet dreams." Zakoto cooed, before his image melted and disappeared.

"I'm going to _fucking _KILL you, Zakoto!" Hiei screamed into the empty sky.

He couldn't appreciate the beautiful orange and pink hues of the sunrise, for all he saw was red.


	12. Merciless

Chapter: Merciless

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma sat up in her bed, her clothes drenched in sweat. She went over to the closet in the room and looked for something clean.

Fortunately, Kurama had brought her clothes to Genkai's temple. She changed into a red shirt and stretchy black jeans and sat back down on her bed, trying to calm herself down.

She had been dreaming about her past again.

She'd seen several scenes that night. Each previously pushed out of her mind, each terrifyingly graphic, and each specially sickening in their own unique way.

That was one way Zakoto had messed with her mind. She never knew what to expect from him. He could be cruel and violent or gentle and sweet. But it was always things that he would say to her that terrified and twisted her. It was how he really screwed up her mind.

Tonight, every dream she had was re-traumatizing, but there was one that stood out. It was one of the most frightful experiences she'd had with Zakoto, but not because of him.

_He'd never been careless before. He always waited until she was gone, until she had left for the bar or the casino, whatever kept her away from any responsibility._

_Did he forget she was staying in tonight?_

_It didn't matter why. The point was, tonight she could be free._

_Her mother never believed her when she said what daddy does at night… but if she could _show_ her…_

'_I think you're starting to enjoy our little visits, my dear. It's a shame, really. You have such beautiful screams.'_

_She didn't respond. She wanted to call for her mother, but it was too soon. It had to be obvious._

_He slid over her, completely naked, and began to position himself. He pinned her arms behind her, smirking. Her breath quickened._

_Now. He couldn't explain this. Her mother would _have_ to believe her. _

_She screamed. She screamed over and over again._

_He jumped at the sheer volume, but made no efforts to move away. He must have forgotten she was staying. He finally made a mistake._

_Her throat ached, but she kept screaming. Finally, the bedroom door opened and her mother stormed in._

'_Keiyma, what the hell?' she demanded angrily. Her eyes ran from Keiyma's face to the naked male body atop of her. She was quiet. _

_Could she see who it was?_

_He turned to her. Their eyes locked. She knew who it was._

'_Oh. Sorry.' Her mother quickly turned away and left the room, slamming the door behind her._

_She was gone, ran away. They were alone. More alone than they had ever been._

_He turned back to her, sneering._

'_That was _very_ sneaky, my dear.' He grabbed her neck viciously. 'But haven't you realized it by now?' He tightened his grip. She choked. 'You cannot escape me.' _

Her mother hadn't cared. Nobody cared. He was right. She didn't _escape_ him. She was only free because he left her. But he was back.

"I'm going to _fucking _KILL you, ZAKOTO!"

Hiei was screaming. Keiyma ran, following the voice. When she found Hiei outside, he wasn't alone. Kuwabara, Kurama and Yusuke were there, looking as though the shout had woken them up.

Hiei was breathing heavily. When he saw Keiyma, there was a strong look of concern in his eyes.

What had happened?

"What did Zakoto want this time?" Yusuke asked, sleepily.

"Did he come lookin' for Etsu or something? 'Cause that spy's long gone! Yeah, I chased her outta here like nobody's business!" Kuwabara bragged proudly in an effort to lighten the mood.

"No… He came about me, didn't he, Hiei?"

Keiyma looked down to the floor, ashamed. She felt Hiei's hand beneath her chin, gently pulling her face, causing her to look deep into his crimson eyes once more.

He put his arm around her shoulders and, in an instant, ran with her into the next room.

"He is evil, Keiyma, just a lowly creature not even worthy of uttering your name. Never feel bad for what he has done." His voice was cool and comforting, despite his anger.

"I can't help it. I just feel so… so _dirty_. And, this is all my fault… if it weren't for me, none of this would be happening."

"You're right. This wouldn't be happening. But, I wouldn't have met you, either."

"Maybe… that would have been better. I mean, what if he hurts you?"

"Then it will be worth it."

"You barely even know me… how do you know that I'm worth it?"

He let go of her. "Would you like to see?"

"What?"

"Read my mind."

"Okay, I'll try…"

Keiyma concentrated on Hiei, on invading the caverns of his mind. A thought popped into her head. It was Hiei's voice, but his lips weren't moving.

'Are you ready?'

She nodded.

Hiei lifted his hand and brushed his fingertips against her lips, just as she had done to him before.

Something sprung up into her mind. She didn't know what color it was, what shape it was, or even what it was, but it was coming from Hiei. It was sensational, stunning, and absolutely–

Hiei removed his hand. Keiyma stopped reading his mind.

"What was that?"

"My soul."

"It was so… _perfect_."

"Exactly. You see, we're not meant for each other because of the Ardention. The Ardention is there because we are meant for each other."

"I don't understand…"

"We do not have perfect souls, Keiyma. No soul is perfect. But, our souls seem perfect to each other, because we are exactly what the other has been seeking."

"We're… soul mates."

"Yes."

"I really seem perfect to you?"

"Every part."

Keiyma blushed and fidgeted considerably.

"What… what would happen if we were both reading the other's mind at the same time?"

Hiei looked surprised. He tried to smirk, but, in his own shyness, didn't quite succeed.

"Would you like to find out?"

Keiyma blushed deeper and nodded, curious.

"Okay, concentrate on my thoughts, and I'll concentrate on yours."

She did. Once again Hiei's voice entered her mind, asking if she was ready. She nodded and held out her hand.

He didn't take it. Instead, he plunged his lips on hers.

Each of them felt the others soul wrapping around them, covering them in unrivaled perfection. The feeling of the kiss, the correctness, and the souls surrounding them in a symbol of protection and love… it was breathtaking.

They broke off the kiss after only a second, interrupted by deafening knocking on the door of the room.

"HEY, get back in here! We were in the middle of a conversation!" Yusuke yelled from the other room.

Hiei sped the two of them back inside, both looking quite flushed. The rest of the room's occupants pretended not to notice.

"So…" Kuwabara began after an uncomfortable silence. "What's the plan?"

"I say we kill the bastard right now," snarled Hiei.

"We can't go without having some kind of a plan," said Yusuke.

"No, he's right," Genkai interjected. "We can't afford to wait any longer. Zakoto has already adapted to some of Keiyma's power by now."

"What are ya talkin' about?" Kuwabara asked, tilting his head to the side.

"In a power transfer, the receiving body will slowly adapt the foreign power as their own. In the case that either person dies, all of the power will return to its original owner, unless it has become the possession of its new host. The adaptation process varies on the willingness of the power. Even if Keiyma's power fought against the process, by now he must have adapted to part of it. The longer we wait, the stronger he becomes."

"So that's why he wanted to keep her close by. He needed to make sure she'd stay alive... at least, until the adaptation process finishes and he can kill her," said Kuwabara.

"Why does he keep trying so hard to find her? Wouldn't it be easier to wait until he absorbed her power?" asked Yusuke.

"The rate of absorbing power strongly depends on how close the two bodies are. If he keeps her nearby, it will increase their bond and, therefore, the power consumption will become much faster." Replied Genkai.

"So why don't we just keep her away? That will buy us some time, right?"

"Numbskull! Do you really think it such a simple task? Don't neglect the fact that he has taken capture of Keiyma three separate times while she was in our possession."

Keiyma's head hung low at Genkai's last statement.

Three times? Had she really been so careless?

"No." Hiei grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "I told you never to blame yourself for what he's done, and I meant it. I won't let anyone hurt you, including yourself. So stop those thoughts or I'll have to use my Katana on you, understand?" He smirked at her. Although she sensed it was a forced smile, it warmed her heart just the same.

"It's not the time for confidence loss, the clock is ticking away and our opportunity is fading. Since you and Hiei have shared power, you must attack together if we want any chance of success. Are you all ready to fight?" Genkai waited for those around her to nod before continuing. "All right then. Hiei, you can still sense him, correct?"

"Yes. Even if I couldn't I'd still be able to find him... just follow the smell of burning waste."

"You and Keiyma must run ahead and try to subdue him before we arrive. It won't last long, but while he's fighting it may pause the power adaptation process. It's risky taking her with you, but we've no other choice. Hopefully we'll reach you before too much time has passed." Genkai turned to Hiei, her face changing to a frighteningly serious expression. "Don't get ahead of yourself. You're not as strong as you once were, and it would be foolish to attempt to kill Zakoto on your own."

"Hn," Hiei said darkly. He raised his hand, still holding Keiyma's, and directed his attention to her. "We have to run there, are you sure you're up to it?"

Keiyma nodded, holding his hand tightly and facing the door near them.

"Let's go," she mumbled, her fear pinching and mangling the words.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

As they raced through the dark night sky, Keiyma was troubled with anticipation, fear, and malevolence.

He might take her away again. He might… _do _things to her.

What if he hurt Hiei? What if he _killed_ him?

The scene around Keiyma was incredibly blurred, just as it had been when Hiei first carried her through the wind. Although she could see nothing, she sensed the location of all the upcoming trees, rocks, and any other obstacles that were blocking their path.

She stopped looking at the blurred forest and up at Hiei. His face was facing straightforward, steady with concentration and tinged with anger. She watched as his eyes drifted over to her every so often, making sure she was still there with him.

While staring at the beautiful demon, a sudden curiosity started to tease her. If she could run like this, she wondered if perhaps she had also gained Hiei's ability to read minds.

Unfortunately, Keiyma didn't have the chance to try and peer into his confidentialities, for, it was at that moment that they came to a stop.

They were in a forest, much like the one near Genkai's temple. Tall trees encircled them. Their usual warm green coloring was painted dark and somber by the dark morning sky. Large gray boulders lay aligned in front of the wide circle of trees, making it blatantly obvious that the area was a ring, designated for battle.

"Where are you?" Hiei snarled out to his surroundings. "Zakoto, I know you're here, I can sense your foul existence rotting away the forest. Why not show yourself for the battle you've been asking for?"

Hiei began pacing the quite large area of the ring, inspecting every tree and rock and catcalling to his deceitful opponent. Keiyma stood in the center of the ring glancing around at the different elements in an attempt to help. She noticed a certain tree that seemed to stand out from the others in a way she was unsure of.

Thoughtlessly, she walked up to the dark, mossy tree and spoke naught of her findings to Hiei. Keiyma ran her fingers down the tree's darkened gray-blue bark, feeling its texture. It felt slightly unusual, however Keiyma decided to let it be and turned to walk back to the ring's center.

Without so much as an ounce of warning, Keiyma felt a strong hand quickly cover her mouth, tightening against it and somehow blocking off her ability to emit any sound whatsoever. She felt something creep over her shoulder and the hot breath of a deep exhale tingling on her neck. She listened and heard an exaggerated intake of breath soaking up her very essence.

"Oh, how I've missed your smell, my dear." Zakoto taunted into her ear, his voice so soft that she could barely hear his words.

She felt his breath move closer, to the point that his lips were almost touching her ear.

"It brings back so many fond memories of home."

_Hands from behind, from _him_, caressing her hair, playing with it, following it down…_

'_Such a good girl…'_

_The hands were on her back, curving slowly to her stomach…_

'_So beautiful…'_

_They were on her thighs, sweeping inward…_

'_So perfect…'_

No. Not again. _That_ wasn't going to happen.

Keiyma bit down.

She tasted his blood within her mouth and heard a sudden holler as Zakoto pulled his hand away. She took the chance and pulled away from her captor.

Hiei ran to Keiyma when he heard the yell.

"Stay back," he ordered Keiyma, stepping up to block her from view. He unsheathed his katana.

"You always did have a powerful bite, my dear. I'm sure I can teach you much better ways to use that talent once I have you back."

"Don't speak to her, you callous ingrate." Hiei stepped in front of Zakoto, blocking his view of Keiyma. "You will deal with me."

"Poor, poor little demon boy. You still don't realize how foolish you are being. A fight with me would be in vain. You're just going to end up dead. Take it from me, little Keiyma can surely be fun at times, but she is definitely not worth your life."

"Shut up!" Hiei hissed, swinging his katana swiftly, attacking Zakoto with a heavy blow aimed to the chest. The sword twinkled beautifully in new sun, deceitful of its true lethal character.

Hiei's aim was true. His katana was ripping through the flesh directly above Zakoto's heart. But, before the sword could delve deep enough to kill, it stopped. The Illusionist's hand was clamped soundly around the helm of the sword.

"This is the famed demon? The legendary Murderous Blur?" Zakoto tutted. "Such a disappointment. Here I thought this battle would have a little challenge. It's almost as if you lost half of your power." He gasped, mockingly. "Oh, wait! Dear me, that's correct, isn't it? You brainlessly gave your power to save the life of this," Zakoto grinned menacingly over Hiei's shoulder at Keiyma, "piteous excuse for a woman."

"I told you to _shut_ _up_!" Hiei lunged his fist into Zakoto's stomach, causing the older man to at first cough and sputter, but his reaction quickly changed into a highly amused laugh.

"You still want to play, Hiei?" He smiled and rolled up the long sleeves of his black robe, careful to evenly align the silver trim. He chuckled as he did so, commenting on his well-deserved vanity. "Then, I guess it's my move." Zakoto took a step back into the forest and crossed his hands in front of him. "Calamity Spiral!"

A thick, screw-like dark purple beam shot from his hands, moving almost too quickly to catch a glimpse of. Hiei moved to the side in an effort to dodge the attack, but was not fast enough. The energy shot through his shoulder and the smells of flesh, blood, and burnt clothing filled the air. Hiei roared out, grabbing his new wound. It was a deep hole, cut almost into the bone, and was filling with frightening cherry-red blood

"Hiei, please, let me help you!"

"No! Stay back, I won't let you get hurt." Hiei groaned through his words.

"Maybe you _should_ ask for a bit of help, hmm? It seems to me that you're doing quite poorly on you own. Not that it will really matter in the end. I can kill every single one of you, if I want," Zakoto jeered.

"We'll see about that!"

With those words, Hiei's skin turned a shocking green and eyes began sprouting over his body. It was his true demonic appearance.

Hiei was about to attack in his new, more powerful, form, when his action was cut short by an unexpected gasp behind him.

Hiei turned to find Keiyma staring at him, a shocked expression upon her face. Her hand slid over her mouth, stifling her sounds of surprise.

"What's this?" Zakoto inquired, highly amused. "You didn't know, did you, my dear? Look closely; observe the hideous creature standing before you. Do you feel it? Do you feel the horror surrounding you? Oh, yes. Your little lover is not simply a demon, but a disgusting monster."

"Keiyma..." Hiei looked back at her apologetically.

"No..." Keiyma began. "No, no, NO!" she shrieked at Zakoto. "You're wrong! YOU are the monster! You're a vile, merciless beast!"

"Merciless? You think I'm merciless, do you?" He raised an eyebrow and called out behind him. "Itachi!"

The wretched servant slithered from a hiding place of shrubbery, hastily creeping up to meet Zakoto.

"Y–yes, Master, I am here," He immediately dropped down on his knees into a bow.

"Itachi, these heathens seem to be under the impression that I am merciless. Tell me, Itachi, have I been good to you? Have I allowed you to live and work with me, with promise of great power, despite your weak energy and utter uselessness?"

"Yes, of course, Master! You have always taken great pity on me! I thank you eternally!"

"You see, if you still think I'm merciless after such a statement, then you'd be..." Zakoto chuckled, placing his hands in a cross before him once more, "absolutely correct. CALAMITY SPIRAL!"

The spiral stabbed directly through Itachi's chest, cracking through his rib cage and spinal column, ripping apart his stomach, intestines, and heart. There was a massive hole through his body where it hit, tissue and organs hanging within it. Blood surged from his body and mouth. Ripped, torn, bruised and burned, Itachi fell to the ground, hopelessly dead.

His blood was pouring, streaming, bursting from him. It was too much.

But, even still, it was not the worst part.

The ghastly, gruesome expression of horror still reined on Itachi's pale, hairless face. So unimaginably awful, it was enough to strike fear into the bravest of souls.


	13. Slow

Chapter: Slow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Itachi was dead.

Zakoto hadn't killed his enemy. He didn't kill someone close to Hiei and Keiyma in a cruel attempt to hurt them. That would have hurt more, but it wouldn't have been so… terrifying.

He had killed his own alley, his loyal servant. He didn't care. It was simple and thoughtless, as if Zakoto was only swatting away at pesky little fly buzzing in his ear. When he looked at the bloody, mangled corpse of Itachi, he didn't even flinch.

Which is what really scared them.

"That was disgusting," Hiei spat.

"Mercy is a weakness, demon boy. It only gets in the way of the pursuit for power. A thirst for conquest and supremacy is natural in all living beings, a thirst that can only be quenched if you admit it and use it to your advantage. I use people to my own will, their life is no matter to mine, and they are the tools I use to succeed. I take what I want, regardless of pointless emotions." Zakoto shot Keiyma a grin.

'_Please, daddy… I don't feel so good.'_

_He folded up her pink skirt and hooked his fingertips into her white cotton panties._

'_Don't misbehave. You want to be good for daddy, don't you?'_

'_I…_'

_He pulled them down, letting his hands run along her thighs as he removed them._

'_Do you want to do this the bad way?'_

'_N-no! I'll be good, daddy. I promise.'_

_He unbuttoned his slacks._

'_That's my girl.'_

Keiyma blushed. She wanted to be angry at Zakoto's words, but felt only humiliation.

Hiei, on the other hand, had no trouble.

"Friends, family… you use them all. You take for granted people actually care for you, people whom many search for their whole lives. You're shameful, disgraceful, and unreal."

A sudden stomping noise in the background caught Keiyma's attention. She made no movement to look at it, noticing that the two men seemed too distracted by their battle of words to pay it any mind. She could make out three sets of footprints, still far away, yet running very hastily.

The rest of the spirit detectives were close, but they needed to _hurry_.

"Unreal? Are you blind to the demon blood that flows within you? Do you deny its lust for power, the desire to smell and feel fresh blood of murder upon your hands?"

"I'm aware of my demon blood, but I also have a mind, to control my actions, and a heart that reminds me of what I want. I keep my goals in sight and work to them, in the most intelligent way I can. You are incapable of this in any way. You are unreal."

"Such disappointing logic, little demon boy. I know my goals, I know my passions, and I know how to get them. I _enjoy_ the suffering I cause. I don't care if it's necessary. I enjoy the power I gain. There may be a path deemed to be 'right,' but anyone who want me to abide by it is more than welcome to feel my wrath."

They're so close... just a bit longer...

"What kind of _freak_ gets off on innocents suffering?"

"You don't understand the feeling. Weak, strong, strangers, family... they all crumble beneath me, begging for their lives, willing to please me however I want. I've seen strong men melt into weak fools. It feels _incredible_."

"Strong men? Hah. You've spent your days torturing little girls. Any death is an ego boost. You think you can beat anyone, but you're wrong, and I'm more than willing to help you realize that. So, step up. I'm your challenge."

No, It was too soon!

Keiyma took a few small steps forward. A glint in Hiei's eyes acknowledged her. She heard his voice resound in her mind.

'Stay back. I can handle this.'

"I can smell your life blood already." Zakoto sniffed the air. "It smells sweet. Funny, I thought it would be spicy... your temper deceived me."

"And yours must smell of bile. Stop talking, the sound of your voice is making me squeamish."

"Oh? I find yours quite enchanting... but if you insist, I'll hurry this along and collect my prize." He grinned at Keiyma. "I guarantee that this next attack will tug at your heartstrings."

Keiyma took a few more steps forward, no plan of action set in her mind. She was expecting Hiei's glare of warning to send her back. Nothing came. She was relieved. The footsteps steadily grew closer behind them, supportive of Keiyma's action.

Zakoto placed his hands over his heart, the left in a fist, the right overlapping it. They glowed with a frightening red aura and his face glowed with a frightening smile.

Keiyma stepped forward again, now next to Hiei. The two men's eyes were so sternly locked upon each other that they no longer noticed her.

If they would only wait for just a few more seconds…

"Scorned Revenge!" Zakoto yowled as he pulled his hands apart. A small, red teardrop-shaped bead of energy flew out from his chest.

"No!" Keiyma yelled, jumping in front of Hiei.

She turned, trying to push Hiei down, out of the way. She would duck down after.

It was all planned within a second, but it was poorly planned.

She was much too slow.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

There was pang in his chest, in his heart. It felt as though his heart was being filled up with air, close to exploding. The pain went no further, as the attack had been weakened before it entered Hiei's body.

He only wished it had been weakened in some other way.

Keiyma fell to his feet. She had been hit with the attack full on. He had no doubt in his mind that the attack had done extreme damage to her heart. But he didn't think…

He brought his hand to her neck. Her pulse wasn't there. The attack had stopped her heart.

When he'd seen her jump in front of him, he froze. He hadn't been expecting it. He thought she was still behind him.

He had tried to grab Keiyma and pull her out of the way of Zakoto's attack.

But, he was much too slow.

Hiei entered a daze, something he had never experienced before. He watched as Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke arrived and quickly pulled Keiyma away. Hiei didn't even question the strange motions they administered on her, pounding and pressing her chest with their palms.

Hiei turned lazily to Zakoto, who was looking shocked, angry, and incredibly frustrated. In his daze, Hiei couldn't figure out why the man was so upset.

Slowly, but surely, a stream of power began to surge into Hiei. He recognized it as his own, and it peaked a memory inside him.

'_In the case that either person dies, all of the power will return to its original owner…'_

Zakoto was losing his power.

That had been their goal, but it seemed pointless now, so unrewarding. They hunted for the sweet smell of success, but found only the bitter taste irony.

Hiei stood there, in desperation, slowly regaining his energy. It was excruciating. Every ounce of power that returned reminded him of the reason.

Someone coughed behind him. It was a long, hacking, wheezing cough, the kind of cough that caused mucus to rise up from the back of a red, contracting throat.

It was the most _beautiful_ sound in the world.

Hiei turned to his side in efforts to confirm the incredible notion that had formed in his mind. He found Keiyma, barely conscious, sputtering away in pain.

But still, she was alive.

"How?" he asked mistily.

"You might mock them sometimes, but the ningen world actually has some incredible remedies, like CPR," Kurama answered.

"But my energy is flowing back to me…"

"Her heart stopped, briefly. I guess that was enough." Yusuke shrugged.

Hiei stared down at Keiyma. Her eyes were almost completely closed and her hands were held tightly over her chest, clutching her victimized heart.

He wanted to hold her, but was afraid it would hurt her. More than that, he was afraid he'd discover that she wasn't really alive, that she had died trying to save him, that he had failed trying to protect her. He couldn't face that.

Unable to draw his eyes away from Keiyma, Hiei didn't notice Zakoto stalking behind him. It wasn't until Zakoto's arms snaked around Keiyma and he pulled her against him that his presence became known.

In the blink of an eye, he'd pulled Keiyma to his face and kissed her. Their joining lips glowed black with energy, revealing that this was another of Zakoto's attacks. But based on the look on Keiyma's face, Zakoto's kiss was much more painful than whatever else he was doing.

She was shaking madly and her eyes were squeezed shut tightly. She made no movement to push him away. She couldn't. She was paralyzed in fright.

Zakoto's movements were so swift, that Hiei wasn't fast enough to stop the attack. But, as soon as he made sense of what was happening, he quickly grabbed his katana and sliced at Zakoto's arm.

The illusionist bellowed loudly, pushing Keiyma down to the ground. This time, he had been hit.

His right arm had been slashed through, almost completely. The cut was directly through the elbow. The lower part of the arm now dangled from a bare tendon. Blood poured from the raw edge of the arm, the white bone of the elbow clashed harshly against the blood. Muscle seemed to droop down from the upper arm, barely visible, yet impossible to miss.

Hiei hadn't intended not to completely slice through the arm. He lost control in his fear of Keiyma's life and didn't plan out his swing. That was just a pleasant result.

Rearing up to attack again, Hiei's blade was stopped by a strong barrier. Enough of Keiyma's power still coursed through Zakoto's veins so that he could block the second strike.

Zakoto gritted his teeth in pain, but a sadistic smirk crept along with it, resulting in quite a frightful expression. "I'd stay back if I were you. It can't be lifted if I die."

"What?" Hiei demanded, taking a menacing step forward.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll find out soon." He glanced over to Keiyma. "Enjoy the gift, my dear, a little present for helping out Daddy."

Hiei growled and Zakoto smiled in an innocent way. He opened up a black portal behind him, let down his barrier, and ran into it.

Hiei slashed his Katana at Zakoto's turned back, but only managed a shallow cut across it. It was just enough to splash blood onto Hiei's green skin, accompanying what had leaked from Zakoto's elbow, and mingling with the blood from Hiei's cut shoulder.

Snarling at the disappearing vortex, Hiei turned around and ran back to Keiyma. She was standing now, though still looking feeble. He looked up at Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, who were staring at him silently. He wanted to thank them, but couldn't seem to find the words. Still, by the look on their faces, they understood.

Returning his gaze to Keiyma, he watched her shaking form struggle to keep her eyes open. Her lips were black, stained with whatever power Zakoto used over her.

She looked mortified and was shivering viciously. Hiei just wanted her to calm down, afraid that her weak heart wouldn't be able to take the stress. He brought his hand tenderly onto her cheek, hoping that his touch would relax her.

But the instant they came in contact with each other, an unbearable sensation erupted from Hiei's flesh.

It felt as though his hand was being frozen, frost bite ripping away it the skin. It felt like it was on fire, small flames erupting across his fingers, licking away and burning deep into his nerves. It dug at his hand deeper and deeper, the pain getting more and more intense, scratching and piercing into his body.

Hiei howled and quickly pulled his hand away. The second it left Keiyma's cheek, the painful sensation was gone. Frightened and surprised by his sudden scream, Keiyma lost her balance and began to fall back.

Instinctively, Hiei grabbed her hand to stop her from falling. The same pain found its way to his hand, grinding away his flesh. Overcome with the pain, Hiei let go of her, causing her to fall straight on to the ground.

He glanced at his hand, which appeared unharmed, then back down at Keiyma. She said nothing, but he could tell by the look of bewilderment on her face that she couldn't feel the pain he did.

Her black lips frowned at him, confused at what was going on. Hiei closed his eyes and turned his head up at the sky.

"'It can't be lifted if I die.'" Hiei quoted.

"What?" Keiyma whispered.

"Your touch... it hurts..." He sighed.

She still looked confused. Sorrow in Hiei's eyes, he was afraid of how she'd take the news.

"Keiyma… you've been cursed."


	14. Whispers and Laughs

Chapter: Whispers and Laughs

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

* * *

Keiyma was huddled in the corner of Genkai's temple. Her shirt was pulled over her head from the back, like a hood, and her face was pressed against her chest. She was hiding herself, too afraid to look at anyone and too afraid to be looked at in return.

'_You cannot escape me.'_

Kurama stood across the room, keeping a watch over Keiyma. He had filled the room with sweet smelling flowers, hoping the scent would calm her, but to no avail. He was worried.

Yusuke walked in, looking solemn.

"She still hasn't moved?" Yusuke asked quietly.

Kurama shook his head.

"How come it only hurts Hiei to touch her?"

"Because they care for each other more than anyone else."

"That's just cruel. Isn't there some way to break the spell?"

"Zakoto said that it couldn't be lifted if he dies... My guess is only he can lift it."

"Damn. There's nothing else we can do?"

"We can't stop the curse, but there's a chance it can be transferred to a willing body."

"Someone willing to burn up the person they love? I don't think we'll have any takers there."

"No, I wouldn't think so."

"Hiei's still locked up down the hall... He'd probably kill Kuwabara and bust down the door if we hadn't charmed it. He keeps screaming that he wants to see her." Yusuke nodded towards Keiyma.

"He knows we're doing it for his safety. He would ignore the pain of the curse until the flames send him into his death."

"I can't help but to feel sorry for them." Yusuke clenched his fist in front of him. "But, we'll find a way to save them. We'll look everywhere if we have to!"

"Yusuke," came a low whisper, "you don't always have to try to be the hero."

Yusuke and Kurama turned to Keiyma, whose head was still covered. The voice had been scratchy and deep, but it was definitely Keiyma.

"Keiyma?" Yusuke asked, confused by the abnormality in her voice.

"It's true." her voice called out again, still sounding quite unnatural. "Sometimes, there's no need for a hero. Sometimes, things just can't be saved."

"Keiyma, are you all right?" Kurama asked, taking a cautious step towards her.

"All right? Is that all? Why, I'm better than all right. I'm _perfect_. Everything's exactly as it should be, as it was intended to be."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Don't you know?" She raised her head to look up at Kurama. "I can't be happy. It's impossible. Every time I find something... something that actually gives me a tiny ounce of security... it DIES! It's such a cruel little fate, and yet so _genius_!" Keiyma's head fell back against the wall in raucous laughter. It wasn't among any of her normal, sweet laughs. It was deliriously happy and quite frightening given the circumstance.

She began again as her laughter subsided. "When you and Shiori took me into your house it was so unbelievable... I thought I might have at last found people who could actually care about me. Even though we weren't meant to be _together_, Kurama, I still thought we could all be a family. But I already have a family, a family unable to leave me behind. As soon as I was rid of mother, I managed to find my long-lost father. I can't really be mad him, since I know that I must have done something to deserve what he did to me. I must have done something to deserve all of it."

"You didn't deserve that, Keiyma. We can still be your family. We won't abandon you."

"True, I haven't lost you, Kurama." She looked back down at the youkai demon, an unnatural grin spread wide across her face. "But don't you worry," She wagged a finger in front of her as though she were speaking to a small child. "Your time will come. Nothing good lasts long."

"Keiyma, stop it! You're acting like an idiot!" Yusuke's voice called out to her, causing her to turn very slowly toward him.

"Don't worry Yusuke. This isn't my usual hopeless complaining. I'm accepting the truth. There is no happiness for me, I'm doomed. It's really quite hilarious when you think about it, don't you agree?" She began laughing feverishly again and pounded her fist onto the ground in her flurry of laughter.

"Will you stop being so selfish? We're trying to help you! I mean, first you sit in the corner ignoring everything, now you're acting like a complete lunatic and-"Yusuke yelled loudly, not even able to cause Keiyma to wince.

Her mind glazed over Yusuke's voice. She became distracted by a soft whisper inside her mind. It was Hiei, but she could only make out bits and pieces of what he was saying.

"_...bastards... no curse... control me... let me out... Keiyma."_

He was sufferingHer curse was hurting him.

Keiyma snapped back from her daze to find Yusuke staring at her expectantly, obviously waiting for some kind of response to an unheard statement.

"You're right, Yusuke," Keiyma said, still in the eerie, low, scratchy voice. "I'm being selfish. Nobody else should have to endure my life's punishment."

"Well, yeah, but–"Yusuke began, but Keiyma didn't stop to listen.

She stood up stiffly and began to walk out of the room. She didn't bother to move aside to avoid hitting Yusuke and Kurama. She just walked straight between them, pushing each in turn to the side.

She walked robotically through the hall toward where Kuwabara was leaning against a wall beside a door, which was covered with various spells.

"Wha–?" Kuwabara sputtered as she walked towards him.

Her eyes had dark circles under them and her face was boding evil. A small frenzied smile slid across her black-tainted lips. Accompanied with gloomy shadowing from her black shirt, which was still pulled snugly over the back of her head, she looked quite frightening. Kuwabara felt fear tingle across his spine, paralyzing him. He was helpless to do naught but watch this warped form of Keiyma.

She stopped once she reached the door. She stared at it, still smiling, and pulled her shirt down from the back of her head, letting the cloth fall back in place. She shoved at the door with great force.

Her mind was not worrying how to hit the door or whether or not it would fall. All she felt was that she was going to break it down without difficulty. Her smirk widened as she heard the thud of fallen wood. She stepped inside.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei swore as his latest attempt at opening the door failed. He froze for a second as he heard her voice whispering faintly in his mind.

"_...suffering... curse... hurting..."_

He thought Keiyma was in pain. He punched at the door, desperate to save her, but to no avail. He stepped back, planning to send a fire attack, and began to gather his energy.

Before he could release the attack, the door fell over and Keiyma stood there, smirking. She stepped inside, walking over the door.

Hiei had to restrain himself from running up to hold her, remembering the curse. His mind didn't even brush upon how Keiyma managed to bust open the charmed door. He was too busy staring at her face. There was something very, very wrong.

"Keiyma..." he muttered, gaping at her with wary eyes.

Her creepy smile slipped down slowly and her lips pursed seriously. She held her hands up in front of her, and, in a flash of energy, her spirit daggers appeared. She began to slowly approach Hiei.

"What's going on?" he exclaimed, too bold to take a step back.

She moved swiftly and pushed him against the wall, careful to cover her hands with the sleeve of her shirt. She pointed each dagger at an angle toward his throat.

Hiei felt an urge to dawn his characteristic smirk, along with the inclination to fight against Keiyma. Burning desire to cease her control and seize his own dominance blazed inside of him. But he ignored these feelings, convincing himself that he wouldn't hurt her without understanding. Though the possibilities seemed grim, he refused to believe his sinister suspicions of betrayal.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a deal."

"What deal?"

"You're going to take this curse from me."

"You want to curse me?"

"When you touch me, it hurts you, but I feel nothing. I'm not going to let you feel the pain I deserve."

"So, you want me to take the curse that you can suffer. I don't think so."

"If you don't, I'll kill you." She moved her daggers slightly closer so that the tips were practically touching his pale skin.

He knew she was bluffing.

"Fine, go ahead and kill me. I won't let you hurt yourself."

Keiyma pulled the daggers back in order to stab him, but froze, unable to thrust them forward. Her fanatical smile drooped into an angry scowl and she drew back.

Hiei didn't alter his cool tone, but was internally sighing in relief. There was something odd about her, something frightening, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to reach her.

There was barely enough time for Hiei to relax, when Keiyma moved unexpectedly. This time her right dagger was pressed against her throat. The frightful smirk returned to her face once again.

"You're right. I wouldn't hurt you. But, I wouldn't dare say the same about myself." She spoke whimsically and let out an unfitting, hearty chuckle as she pulled the dagger across her throat just close enough to graze the skin.

"You can't-!" Hiei cried out. He stifled himself quickly, but, as he watched Keiyma raise a victorious eyebrow, he knew it was too late. He'd shown vulnerability and lost his bargaining ground.

He never would have slipped up like that before.

"I can't? You'd be surprised how easily I could. One of the perks of being crazy, I suppose." She laughed cheerfully again and let out a little sigh.

"You're not crazy. You're just... confused."

"Confused? I'm not confused. Why don't any of you understand that for the first time I'm seeing things clearly?"

"You're not. You need to think this through... We can't afford you overreacting-"

"That's right. You can't afford for me to overreact. You can't afford me to die either, you need me. Even if you don't really love me, which wouldn't be very surprising..." She paused, the part of her still intact was hoping for some sort of dismissal to her accusations. None came. Her insane persona took over once again and she continued. "You still have to consider who I am. You can't forget that I am the almighty Myrani Sakai, whose power has potential to reach unlimited heights!"

"I wouldn't say unlimited."

"Hmm... probably not." She chuckled. "But the fact remains that I don't care if I die or not. All I care is that you don't have to feel the pain meant for me. I'm not supposed to be happy, Hiei, but I'm not going to let my cursed life ruin you. There's two ways for me to solve that problem. I'll leave the choice to you."

"I don't understand... you're acting just like..." Hiei trailed off.

"My father? Well, that's fitting. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, you know."

"But, you're not really like this. You're not really like _him_."

"Maybe this is who I really am, who I've been destined meant to become. Maybe all those years I was just living under a false optimism, thinking that, one day, I was going to find the joys of life! I'm not that naïve anymore, not just an innocent child sheltered from the truth. Though, I guess I never really was innocent, was I?" She let out a hollowed laugh. "Nothing good in this life lasts, but the pain is always there."

"I've never before thought someone could speak such complete ludicrous," Hiei huffed. "Well, I don't believe in destiny. It's up to us to determine our fate. You can't just sit aside and let this overcome you." Hiei's words caused Keiyma's face to soften to normal. It only lasted a moment. Her features quickly changed back into the twisted, happy smirk, though it wasn't quite as severe.

"Don't worry. It may sound like I'm worse off, but it's really for the best. It won't hurt as much, now."

"Do you regret meeting me?"

The question caught her off guard. "No… I don't regret meeting you, but I regret bringing you into my life, into my pain. We _can't_ be together forever. Something will happen… something will take you away."

"Not unless you let it."

A sad look overcame Keiyma. Her right hand started to slip down, away from the threatening position against her neck. She quickly caught herself and snapped it back.

"You're not going to talk me out of this Hiei. Make your choice."

"Don't– "

"NOW!" Keiyma screamed. The force of her voice shook her hand, causing the point of her dagger to jab into part of her neck.

"I'll do it!" Hiei yelled back. It was not Keiyma's urgency, nor watching her hot blood trickle down her neck that persuaded him. It was the fact that she didn't even flinch as the blade stabbed through her tender flesh.

"It's a deal, then," Keiyma said, reabsorbing her daggers and grabbing Hiei's hand in hers.

His eyes slammed shut as he felt the surge of pain overtake him, the white-hot burn that felt like it was ripping apart his hand. The pain began to subside, dulling down more and more. It became mild enough for him to open his eyes, and, as he did so, he saw Keiyma gritting her teeth in pain. He tried to pull his hand away from her, but she was holding on to him to tightly. Finally, the pain Hiei had felt was gone.

Keiyma cried out as she felt the full infliction of the pain and quickly released his hand.

The soft pink of her skin showed no sign of the assault. She looked back up at Hiei, her reflection shown brightly in his eyes.

Her lips were still black. She would always be tainted.

"Thank you, Hiei"

"Don't thank me," he muttered. "I don't deserve any thanks for letting you hurt yourself."

A deranged grin swept upon Keiyma's face at his disappointment.

She was doing the right thing. Once she's gone… he'll be safe.

"Let it go. It doesn't matter. Just forget me."

"How am I supposed to forget you?"

"It will be easier once I'm gone."

"Where are you going?"

"To fight Zakoto."

"Alone? There's no way I'm letting you–"

"Shhh." Keiyma walked up close to Hiei, shushing him softly. She put her lips close to his ear and said, almost silently, "Don't worry. Just forget me."

Her voice echoed eerily in Hiei's mind. He didn't even notice she was leaning in until he felt her lips against his cheek in a chaste kiss. It short and simple, but it held a sweetness that he didn't know she was still capable of. It was so gentle, so meaningful. He was taken aback.

It was a kiss purely from the heart.

Keiyma had wanted to kiss Hiei longer, but the pain was too much. It was nearly one thousand times worse than the pain she'd felt when touching Hiei's hand. She thought back to Zakoto and her black lips.

He'd punished her for finding love, cursed her kiss _with_ a kiss. Brilliant... he was such a brilliant man. If she lost her battle, at least she'd know she died at the hands of a true _artist_.

She smirked, no longer even considering her thoughts to be fanatical. They were merely honest.

She turned from Hiei and ran out of the room expeditiously, determined to find Zakoto and to keep Hiei safe.

Keiyma had a head start, for her knight in shining armor was still too dazed from her kiss to notice she had left.


	15. Enough

Chapter: Enough

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.

**_Important_ Notes About this Chapter**: If you have not read this fanfic since the release of this chapter, it is highly recommended that you go back and read all of the earlier chapters. This story has gone through a serious editing process and has several new scenes added. Please _comment_ on the earlier chapters to let me know if you like/dislike the new scenes and editing changes. Also, note that I have not actually seen YYH since I started writing this story two years ago, so the comments that I'm looking for aren't whether the characters are OOC from the way they act on the show. Please read all of the earlier chapters before reading this chapter, as there are some parts that may not make sense otherwise. I thank you and hope you all enjoy this long awaited installment of "You've Got to Have Hope."

* * *

"Zakoto, get out here."

Keiyma was back in the forest where she had seen Zakoto and Etsu meet. She began pounding on the great mahogany tree, assuming he was still linked to it.

A black portal appeared. Zakoto stepped out.

His black robe was tied on the right sleeve where Hiei had attacked him. Zakoto had obviously cut off what was left of the attachment.

"All alone, my dear?"

"I'm never alone. You're always with me." She grinned. "You made sure of that."

Zakoto cocked an eyebrow, slowly walking towards her, his black robes flowing behind him.

"And that's amusing to you?"

"Side-splitting!" She laughed raucously, throwing her head back. Hair fell from her face, revealing soft skin that glowed strangely in the moonlight.

Zakoto stopped in front of her and peered down at the guffawing girl.

"You've lost your mind, haven't you?" Keiyma's laughter stilled and she looked back at him, cocking her head to the side.

"You want me to tell you that _I_ haven't, that _you've_ taken it from me."

"It would not be the first thing I've taken from you," he sneered.

She shook her head, laughing. "No, it wouldn't." She smiled, her eyes glittering eerily. "But I'm not crazy."

He moved his body closer, eliminating the gap between them, lowering himself to look into her eyes, while still looming above her. He whispered, his voice deep, captivating her just as he had long ago, "Then, why, my dear, have you come back to me?"

She stiffened. She could feel his hot breath against her, impossible to ignore.

"I need to make sure you leave the spirit detectives alone."

"Just them, my dear?" His hand ran lazily across her cheek.

"As if I could save myself," she hissed. He chuckled.

His fingers ran over the bridge of her nose and he frowned.

A sudden rush of warmth flowed from his hands. It was hot, but not uncomfortably so. Keiyma shivered awkwardly.

He removed his hand and smiled. "Much better."

Keiyma touched her nose. It no longer felt crooked or bumpy, as it had for so many years.

"You… fixed me." She gaped at him. He isn't supposed to fix her. That's not his job. He _breaks_ her.

"It was such a pity when your mother did that. Oh, I punished her, but it was still quite frustrating. I'd always tried so hard not to scar your pretty face. No doubt she broke it again after I left."

"Twice." She laughed. Of course, he did it only for him. "Why don't you do that to your arm?"

"That would be straining. I won't bring it back until I'm in a more… _comfortable _situation."

"Well, what about your face?" She indifferently ran her thumb across a particularly long scar on his cheek.

Zakoto was startled, but didn't show it. Keiyma was acting different, strangely different. Specifically, she wasn't _afraid_ of him…

He needed to change that.

"I had a bit of a… _tussle_ a few years back. I disposed of the fools quickly, but kept the scars. I thought they made me look more… imposing." He smirked. "But, to you, I suppose, I'm much more frightening _this_ way."

He waved his hand in front of his face. The deep, ugly scars melted off, revealing spotless skin. His true face, a face of quivering beauty, remained in place of his unsightliness.

He was right. To her, this face was far more terrifying.

_She was ducking down in her closet, her face pressed against her knees. She had tried to disguise herself among the piles of clothes on the closet ground. _

_She was a teenager now, but it didn't seem childish to hide. It wasn't. Hiding from _him _was perfectly reasonable._

_She was trembling, too terrified to make a sound. She didn't want him to find her._

_Her hand clutched stiffly around the helm of a serrated table knife she'd taken from the kitchen._

_If he found her… if he didn't stop… _

She_ would stop him._

_The closet door began to slide open. She could hear it, but didn't lift her head. _

_If she didn't look, if she didn't _see_ him, there could still be the chance that he wasn't really there…_

'_Hello, my dear.' That voice… that horrible, bewitching voice… _

_He was definitely there._

_But… maybe he was bluffing. Maybe he hadn't noticed her…_

_She felt the weight of the clothes she had used to cover herself being lifted from her. A warm hand trailing up her back, replaced them._

_She shivered. The hand reached the top of her spine, and grabbed the scruff of her neck to lift her until she was standing._

_The hand moved to her shoulder, another mimicked it. She was turned around to meet a beautiful, sneering face._

'_I guess I've won your little game.'_

_He always won, didn't he?_

_His hand shifted delicately to her face, his fingers tracing along her jawbone._

_But this game wasn't over yet._

_She tightened her grip on the knife, slowly raising it up, hoping he wouldn't notice…_

_He did. _

_His eyes darted quickly to the sudden flash of metal. He looked back at her, his eyebrow raised._

'_What are you planning on doing with that, my dear?'_

'_I–' She wanted to tell him, to scream at him, to make him fear her. But nothing came out._

_He smiled his evil, ridiculously perfect smile. His white teeth burned bright as Hellfire, making her raging teenaged hormones jump in excitement. Oh, how she wanted that feeling to stop. How could she feel so excited by him when all he did was hurt her?_

_She wanted it all to stop. _

_She raised the knife quickly and jabbed it at his chest, wanting him to bleed and scream like she had. She wanted to enjoy his pain like he had enjoyed hers._

_But she couldn't._

_His hand had grabbed her wrist, halting her effortlessly. His other ripped open her grip, causing the knife to fall to the floor in a daunting clatter._

_She had failed._

_He pushed her hard against the wall of the closet, producing a feeble whimper from the petrified girl. He pinned her chest in place with one hand while he reached down to pick up the knife. She tried to squirm away, but he was too strong._

_He was back, his face inches from hers, his dark eyes boring holes. She wanted to get away, to grab the knife back, to stab him, to slice him, to pull his shimmering hair, to claw his flawless skin. But she couldn't. She couldn't move._

_He pressed the blade to her throat, just enough for her to feel the uneven edge against her. _

_He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. 'Playing with knives is very dangerous, my dear. Someone could get hurt. Don't you know that?'_

_Of course she knew that. That was the point._

_She didn't respond._

'_No answer? Well, if you're so eager to introduce this…toy… into our relationship, I'm going to have to demonstrate.'_

'_No.' Her voice was strained, scarcely there._

_The blade moved downward, only just grazing her skin. It paused beneath her collarbone._

'_Oh, yes, my dear.' The blade dipped into her flesh, carving a stream of fresh blood across her chest._

_She screamed and strained against his hold. It caused the blade to jerk and worsened the pain, but she couldn't help herself. It hurt _so_ badly…_

_He hissed to her, and she heard him despite her shrill, blaring screams, 'You must learn.'_

Keiyma couldn't breathe.

She didn't even notice as Zakoto walked around her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

His lips brushed against her ear and he began humming softly, the same tune Keiyma had heard him humming a few days before, as he read a newspaper at the table like some sort of human being. She had thought it was familiar then, but, now, she remembered it perfectly.

_Her body ached everywhere. She was black, blue, and bloody. Her arms were out beside her, her legs stiff and straight. She was completely worn out. He was so rough, so horribly rough, worse than he had ever been before. She had tried so hard to kick him off, but he had pinned her down, slashing, beating, and pounding into her. _

_It was so quiet, as if he had left. But that was stupid. She knew he was still there, watching her. _

_She started to cry softly, her head lain against the bear mattress. The sheets had been pulled off in their scuffle. _

_She heard his breath above her. He lifted her into a sitting position and sat behind her, letting her fall against his chest, his legs framing her small body. He was clothed, now, but that didn't matter. He was still just as terrifying. _

_He began to hum, rocking her softly as she cried. It was so… strange. It would have been comforting, had he not been the one who had hurt. But this… this was not comforting. _

_This was mocking._

_He was treating her like a child, a child crying in her crib for trivial reasons, as though she was being silly._

_She was, though, wasn't she? It was silly to cry. What good would come from it? Nobody could hear her. Or, if they could, they didn't care. He certainly didn't care. It encouraged him. So why cry?_

_He squeezed her stomach, causing her to yelp in pain. He chuckled through his humming._

_That was why. Because it hurt and because she was afraid. He knew that. That's why he was doing this. He was making fun of her. She was just a baby, a crying little baby._

_And he was her daddy._

Keiyma couldn't move. Her powerful insanity had crept away. She was once again that little girl kept captive in her bedroom.

She was _scared._

Zakoto ceased his humming and looked down into the wide, distant eyes of the defeated girl within his arms. He smirked.

She was _his_.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei was almost there. He couldn't believe he'd wasted any time going after Keiyma.

But that_ kiss _was just _so_…

There was no time to dwell. She wasn't thinking straight, and he needed to catch up with her before she hurt herself.

He wasn't sure where she was, but he had a guess. If he didn't find her at the tree where she had entered Zakoto's portal before, he'd just have to keep looking.

Hiei stopped. She was there.

But so was _he_.

Zakoto was behind her, holding her with his remaining arm.

How _dare_ he touch her?

Keiyma's head was down, but from what Hiei could see, her eyes were glazed over, as though she were caught under a spell. Whatever spell it was, it was Zakoto's doing, and Hiei had to stop him.

"Get your_ fucking _hands off of her!" Hiei screamed as he charged towards Zakoto, katana in hand.

He had almost reached Zakoto, when he was suddenly shot backward by a burst of energy at his chest. Hiei looked up, squinting in pain. Zakoto was watching him in silence, an amused smile playing across his face. Keiyma looked up, her eyes still misty.

Hiei tried again, now more determined. He got closer this time, but the burst of energy still hit him, this time even stronger.

He grunted in pain, causing Keiyma to snap back into reality. Hiei ran again, now even harder, not caring how severe the blast would become.

Before Hiei was close enough, he stopped.

But not by _choice_.

A new barrier had formed around the energy barrier. It caused no pain to touch, but still halted Hiei from reaching his target.

Keiyma was staring at him.

"No, Hiei."

It was her barrier. She had stopped him from helping her.

But he _had _helped her. She wasn't under Zakoto's spell anymore.

"Please, stay back. I don't want you to get hurt," she said.

Was she still acting crazy? He wasn't sure.

"I don't care if I get hurt."

Hiei pushed against the barrier. It was powerful, no doubt in that. He swung at it with a mighty blow of his katana, but it stayed intact.

"I'm going to break through this, eventually."

"Then I'll be quick." She grinned, more dreamily than hysterically, and removed Zakoto's arm, which was still wrapped tightly around her stomach. She turned to face him.

He was smirking.

She summoned her spirit daggers and raised them threateningly. Her breath quickened.

His eyes were glowing in laughter for her.

"What are you planning to do, my dear?" he whimsically repeated the same question from three years before, his voice completely unfazed.

_He_ was not afraid. He had never been afraid of her.

But he should be.

She jutted both of her daggers at his chest, aiming for his collarbone, just where he had hurt her the last time she tried to attack him.

His hand immediately shot to one of her wrists, and wrapped her arm around the other, using her own limb to pin her arms and halt the attack. She was stronger than she had been before, but she still could not overpower him.

He gave her arm another painful twist, enjoying the sob of pain it created.

"My, this is familiar, isn't it?"

'_Playing with knives is very dangerous, my dear.'_

No. She couldn't. She couldn't have failed _again_.

"I think we both know how this will end."

'_You must learn.'_

"No!" she screeched, pulling against Zakoto's grip to elevate her, and kicking against his abdomen.

He let go, grabbing his victimized stomach, causing Keiyma to fall to the ground, landing on her side. She jumped up quickly, needing to attack Zakoto again before he regained his breath.

She leaped at him, managing to slice two deep cuts into his chest before he maneuvered her away, blasting a bright red energy beam at her left leg. She tried to dodge the attack, but failed. Her knee sounded a nauseating crack as it broke. She carefully repositioned her weight to the right leg, the left now completely useless to her.

The loud clack of Hiei's katana attacking the barrier increased.

"I guess we're even, now," Keiyma said bitterly.

"Not nearly."

Zakoto grabbed Keiyma's injured leg and pulled it upwards, hanging her upside down with her back to him. She screamed with the sudden burn of her wounded knee, dangling her inches from the ground and safety from gravity's pull.

"You still _have_ your leg." He yanked Keiyma higher, just enough to make her to howl in pain, and grinned wickedly. "But we can change that."

"Please!" she screamed, "Please stop!"

But he didn't. He only laughed at her.

He'd done so many things to her, but he'd never… he'd never taken away her leg. He'd hurt her, but she was still physically _whole_.

"You can't help but to get yourself in these situations, can you, my dear?"

How could anyone _avoid_ them? It was always the same, over and over and ov—

There was a quick flash in front of her.

_The daggers. _She still held them!

Keiyma stabbed blindly behind her, taking the only chance she ever had. The dagger made contact, but then continued its course. She hadn't stabbed him in the center of his leg, as she'd hoped, but slashed through the outside.

By the sheer generosity of chance, Zakoto lost his balance. She thrashed wildly, screaming at the pain it caused, and he fell backwards.

Keiyma quickly jerked herself upright into a sitting position and moved her legs away from Zakoto's grasp. She was sitting on his abdomen, her legs straddling him, while her right hand was raised threateningly and the left held a dagger stiffly against his throat.

"If you wanted to be on top, all you needed to do was ask," Zakoto taunted.

Keiyma couldn't help but blush. Even when she was in complete control… she wasn't.

How could he remain so unaffected?

"I want to kill you," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, it would appear so." Unbelievably, he sounded _cheery._

"How does death by castration sound?" she growled, demanding that he fear her.

"Ah, a poetic justice. How fitting." He frowned slightly. "But don't you think that it would be far more ironic if you _fucked_ me to death, my dear?"

Keiyma stared. That was… shocking. He'd never been so direct before. It was unusual, and, somehow, horribly intimidating.

It made her feel like a filthy slut.

Her cheeks burned hotter with shame.

"I hate you. I _hate_ you." Her voice was choked, half-sobbing, her knuckles white from the intensity of her grip.

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes. _I want to… to…"

"To what?"

"To… _hurt_ you, to make you scream, make you cry. I want you to beg me to stop. I want you to suffer the way you've made me suffer. Then I want you to die."

"But what of all the memories we have?"

A knot formed in Keiyma's throat and she couldn't speak. Zakoto laughed lightly.

"You'll never get rid of me, my dear."

"You're not really in a position to say that, Zakoto." She pressed the dagger tighter against his throat, pushing against his Adam's apple. He didn't react to the movement.

"Oh, you can kill me, but I'll still be with you. I'll be in your dreams, your thoughts. Though, it's more than that, little Keiyma. Don't you see?"

"See what?" He grinned at her confusion with an air of mock chivalry.

"The urge you have to torture me, the pleasure you get from the very idea… is it not akin to mine?"

No. That was not true. She was nothing like him. He was cruel and vindictive, a monster disguised in mortal flesh!

She didn't think like that. No, not like… like _that_…

But… didn't she?

She wanted her turn to laugh and mock, to feel only pleasure in pain. Just as he had done to her, she wanted to do to him.

Her desires were his.

They were the same.

She said nothing. She could say nothing but.

"Kill me, then, my dear. Immortalize me. _Become_ me."

How could she kill him after he had said that? It would just be proving him right…

"Do not deny yourself, _my_self. Kill me, as you do so crave."

_Crave_… yes, she craved it. She wanted to kill him, but she couldn't. Not while he teased her, not while he _told_ her to do it.

Didn't that ruin the idea? How could he suffer if it had been his idea?

"Do you think it will save you?"

Save her from what? From him?

He's trying to trick her! Trick her into believing that letting him go with free her mind.

But it won't, will it? Either way… he'll be with her.

So, if she can't avoid it…

She can accept it.

"What are you going to do, my dear? The time is wasting…"

"You're right. You've become a part of me," Keiyma removed her daggers from their threatening positions and reabsorbed them, but still remained on top of Zakoto, "Which is why I won't kill you."

Zakoto smiled. "I didn't think you—"

"_Instead,_" Keiyma interrupted poignantly, causing Zakoto's face to darken, "I'm going to let you live knowing that there's someone in the world who _can_ kill you whenever they want. Who will hurt you for no reason and _enjoy_ themselves. Who can make you scream and cries in ways that you have never before imagined. Someone who is always there and always ready to hear you cry. And I will; I will hear you cry, daddy."

"Such big words for a little girl."

"I'm not your little girl, anymore. Never again. It's your turn, now." She stood up from her position on Zakoto and hobbled backward, careful to keep her weight on her uninjured leg. "Run away, little baby, run away."

Zakoto stood up gracefully and extended a long finger of his lone left hand to caress Keiyma's jaw line. "I will be back, my dear.

He snapped his hand away. A thin stream of sanguine appeared across his knuckles.

He glanced back to Keiyma and saw a familiar sneer upon her face.

She'd attacked him so quickly… he hadn't even seen her move…

"And I'll be waiting," she said.

He stared at her. Keiyma did not look away.

With a wave of his bloody hand, Zakoto's black portal reappeared.

He turned to it, but paused before stepping out.

"You haven't won, you know."

"But neither have you."

He chuckled darkly and stepped through his portal. It disappeared immediately as he entered.

_CRASH!_

The sound of broken class filled the air. Keiyma jumped and turned to find Hiei, in his demon form, standing, katana drawn, in front of the remains of a broken barrier.

Hiei vanished and instantly reappeared in front of her in his human form.

She smiled woefully. "I forgot you were there."

"I'll always be here for you."

Keiyma wanted to cry. Why did he have to care?

"You shouldn't have let him go."

Keiyma sighed.

"Maybe not."

The cool breeze blew Hiei's black locks over his strangely compassionate crimson eyes. The Ardention was begging her to touch him…

Did he feel it, too?

"We should probably go back and get your knee fixed. He wouldn't have hurt you if you'd just let me help," he grumbled, staring at the damage.

Keiyma took a slow breath.

"Hiei, I have to go."

His eyes darted back to her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you, I'm not going to let you feel any of my suffering. The only way I can make sure that doesn't happen is if I… if I leave you, Hiei."

"You don't think I'll suffer when you're gone? You don't think it will hurt me, kill me to be without you?"

"It will– "

"We're soul mates. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

She ignored the question, simply because she had no answer.

"I'm leaving, Hiei. You _will_ forget me, and it won't hurt anymore. I promise."

"I won't forget you. That's impossible."

"Yes, you will. I am nothing to remember."

"Keiyma…"

"Goodbye, Hiei. Please, be free."

Keiyma wrapped her arms around Hiei and pulled him into an embrace, her head resting on his shoulder.

She squeezed him tight. Bubbling, boiling pain ripped through her skin and coursed through her veins, and she screamed.

And then she was gone.

Hiei wanted to chase after her, but could not sense her energy.

Keiyma had hidden herself from him.

**O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O**

Hiei sat in the tree in Kurama's backyard. He needed to be close to Keiyma, but, though the memory of her still lingered in the tree top, it wasn't enough.

He felt empty.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama sat around the tree, dependant on assumption and reasoning to figure out the situation, as Hiei gave almost no answer.

Kurama noticed that Hiei's eyes were glazed over, yet focused, the unusual look he bore whenever he was deep into the confines of someone's mind.

"Are you still linked to her?" Kurama's words broke the solemn silence surrounding the four men.

"Yes," Hiei answered, his voice slightly on edge.

"What's she thinking?" Kuwabara asked.

"Hn," said Hiei simply.

The three friends silently agreed to leave their friend alone. They were obviously not helping, and he was not ready to talk yet. They returned inside the house, each sharing looks of deep concern.

Hiei remained outside and didn't even watch the three as they left him. He was in his own little world, or, rather, Keiyma's world.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking, butmanaged to hearthe unintelligible mumbling of her inner monologue. It was just enough to convince him that she was still there, still real.

"_Keiyma…"_

He hadn't intended to project that thought. An uncontrollable force took over him and called to her, needed her.

But he didn't want to stop it.

Keiyma's scrambled thoughts had silenced with his whisper. She had heard him, that was sure, but did she care?

"_Hiei… please, let me go. I don't want you to hurt anymore."_

"_You still hurt me, Keiyma. You can't run from your fears."_

"_Sometimes… being brave isn't worth the risk."_

"_Everything is worth the risk if it means we can be together… Before you, my entire life was spent searching for acceptance, and when I met you…"_

"_Hiei, please…"_

"_You are my hope, Keiyma. And I… am hopeless."_

"_I'm sorry."_

Silence.

Their lives were plunged in darkness; their hearts grew cold and weak, begging for the one touch that would warm them, that would finally teach them of love's charming ways.

No more words were said.

But neither stopped listening.

**-End-**


End file.
